Birds and Warriors Battle to 3-3 Tie

The Surrey Eagles led 2-0 after two periods but had to settle for a 3-3 tie with the West Kelowna Warriors at the South Surrey Arena on Friday evening. Brady Shaw had two goals for the Birds who held onto first place in the Mainland Division but now sit only one point up on the Chilliwack Chiefs who defeated Prince George on Friday.

The Warriors carried the play in the first period and got the majority of the scoring chances, out shooting Surrey 12-6, but it was the Eagles who took a 1-0 lead into the intermission. With just 21 seconds left in the frame, Brett Mulcahy netted his 12th of the season, poking a loose puck in the crease past West Kelowna net minder Tyler Briggs after Kevan Kilistoff did well to shovel it to the front of the net after his first shot attempt hit the post.

Shaw doubled Surrey's lead at 8:48 of the second period when he beat Briggs with a wraparound on the back hand. Eagles goaltender Michael Santaguida made a couple of big saves late in the second to preserve the two goal lead, most notably when he stopped Seb Lloyd who went hard to the net with the puck. Santaguida then recovered to rob Marcus Basara with a slick glove save on the rebound.

West Kelowna came out flying in the third, and their efforts paid off early when Matt Anholt got the Warriors on the board just 3:04 into the period. Surrey retook the two goal lead when Shaw scored his second on the game just under two minutes later with a nice snap shot off the rush from the right circle. But the Warriors found life again as Marcus Basara beat Santaguida on the power play with Colton Mackie watching from the box, and Reid Simmonds rippled the mesh with his fifth of the year to pull West Kelowna into a tie. The Eagles had a great chance to retake the lead late in the third when Kilistoff was sent in all alone on Briggs, but the 20-year-old goalie made a big stop with the left pad to keep the score even and force overtime.

Surrey had the majority of the opportunities in the two overtime periods, and Briggs stood tall in the Warriors' net. His best save in overtime came when he robbed Brett Mulcahy at the right post after a cross crease pass midway through the first additional frame. Moments later, the Eagles were given a man advantage after Daniel Gayle took a slashing penalty, but the Surrey power play couldn't convert. Adam Tambellini had a golden opportunity to end the game with under 90 seconds left to play, but he missed the yawning cage from a sharp angle at the left side of the goal.

Surrey went 0-for-6 on the power play while West Kelowna was 1-for-4. The Warriors out shot the Birds 40-35. The two teams will meet again tomorrow evening at Royal LePage Place.

Official 3 Stars:

1. Brady Shaw - Surrey

2. Matt Anholt - West Kelowna

3. Brett Mulcahy - Surrey

My 3 Stars:

1. Brady Shaw - Surrey

2. Shawn Hochhausen - West Kelowna

3. Brett Mulcahy - Surrey