Eagles Beat Rivermen on Family Day

The top line of Brady Shaw, Adam Tambellini and Drew Best combined for seven points as the Surrey Eagles skated to a decisive 4-1 win over the Langley Rivermen at the South Surrey Arena on Monday afternoon. The win marked the 30th victory of the season for the Eagles who now sit eight points ahead of the Chilliwack Chiefs in the race for the Mainland Division crown.

The Rivermen had the first high quality scoring chance of the hockey game just before the midway mark of the first period when Mario Puskarich picked up the puck at the right circle and fired a wrist shot that snuck through Michael Santaguida and trickled towards the Surrey net, but at the last moment, Craig Wyszomirski pulled the puck off the goal line to keep the game scoreless. The Birds took the lead a few minutes later on the power play when Nic Pierog took a shot from the right half-wall. Langley goaltender James Barr made the save but let a rebound out into the slot that bounced off Kevan Kilistoff and into the net.

Surrey extended its lead early in the middle frame when Tambellini sprung Shaw in on a partial breakaway, and the Ottawa native made no mistake, beating Barr to put the Birds ahead 2-0. Pierog nearly gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead late in the period when he got away on a shorthanded breakaway, but the 19-year-old lost the handle at the last minute and shot the puck wide of the Langley goal.

The Birds would get the 3-0 goal at 3:24 of the third after an amazing individual effort by Shaw who completed a beautiful spin-o-rama move before netting his second of the game. Surrey scored again on the power play later in the period after Devon Toews made a nice pass off the left boards, finding Best in the slot for his 14th of the year. The Rivermen got one back when Puskarich beat Santaguida at 13:08, but that was as close as Langley would come.

Surrey's power play, which had gone 1-for-10 in its previous two games, was 2-for-6 in the victory while Langley was unable to score on five opportunities with the man advantage. The Eagles doubled Langley on the shot clock 42-21. The game marked the final meeting of the regular season between the two teams. Surrey finished with a record of 7-1-0-0 against the Rivermen.

The Eagles will return to action on Friday, February 15th when the Nanaimo Clippers pay their lone visit of the season to the South Surrey Arena. The face-off goes at 7:00pm. For tickets, call 604-531-GOAL (4625).

Pro4 Sports 3 Stars:
1. Brady Shaw - Surrey
2. Drew Best - Surrey
3. Adam Tambellini - Surrey

My 3 Stars:
1. Brady Shaw - Surrey
2. Drew Best - Surrey
3. Adam Tambellini - Surrey