Toews' Hat-Trick Helps Eagles Top Smokies

Devon Toews netted a hat-trick, capped off by the double overtime winner, as the Surrey Eagles skated to a 5-4 victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters at the South Surrey Arena on Sunday evening. With the win, the Birds have now won two games in a row for the first time this season and improve to 7-5-0-1. For Trail, the loss was their seventh in a row. The Smokies still have just one win in the month of October.

The two teams traded goals in the opening frame. The Smoke Eaters got on the board first when Connor Collett beat Eagles goaltender Glenn Ferguson with a shot from the right circle at 2:40. Just over two minutes later, the Birds would answer back on the power play as Craig Wyszomirski scored his second goal in as many games and third marker of the season to even the score.

Trail took the lead again early in the middle frame when affiliate player Chandler Bruyckere picked up his first BCHL goal to give the visitors the advantage. But once again the home team responded before the period was out. Toews scored his first of the game off the rush, finding the mesh behind Smoke Eaters net minder Lyndon Stanwood with a snap shot off the right wing at 15:38.

The Birds took their first lead of the hockey game less than a minute into the third when Toews potted his second, firing a slapper from the point past Stanwood. Surrey maintained the lead until just past the midway point of the period when the Smokies bounced back with two goals in under two minutes from Luke Sandler and Brent Baltus to take a 4-3 lead. The Eagles weren't done yet though as Eric Chevrier scored his first goal in the BCHL with just over two minutes to go in the stanza, forcing overtime.

The fourth period solved nothing and the game went to a fifth frame of three-on-three hockey. Toews ended the evening at 1:07 of the second overtime period, beating Stanwood over the right shoulder to give the Eagles their second consecutive win.

The Birds out shot Trail 47-38 on the evening, and Surrey went 2-for-7 on the man advantage. Newcomer Brady Shaw was not in the lineup, due to the fact that he was out of town on a previously scheduled visit to an NCAA school.

The Eagles will return to action on Friday night at the South Surrey Arena in the first game of a back-to-back, home-and-home series with the Langley Rivermen. Puck drop is at 7:00pm. Call 604-531-4625 for tickets.

Official 3 Stars:
1. Devon Toews - Surrey
2. Brent Baltus - Trail
3. Brett Mulcahy - Surrey

My 3 Stars:
1. Devon Toews - Surrey
2. Craig Wyszomirski - Surrey
3. Brent Baltus - Trail