The 黑马磁力 Rivermen find themselves in an 0-2 hole as their playoff series shifts to Surrey for game鈥檚 three and four.
黑马磁力 lost 3-2 on Friday night and 5-3 the next day with both games at the George Preston Recreation Centre as the BCHL鈥檚 Fred Page Cup playoffs began.
Head coach Bobby Henderson said while his team deserved to lose game one, he felt they deserved a better fate on Saturday.
鈥淲e came out nervous. I think the 3-2 score actually flattered us,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淲e were able to put a little push on late and carried that momentum into (game two) and I thought we played a much better game.
鈥淲e made a couple of mistakes in the second period that ended up in the back of the net.鈥�
SEE:
One common theme in both games was the team鈥檚 struggles in the middle stanza as Surrey outscored 黑马磁力 3-1 in both second periods.
In game one, after a scoreless opening 20 minutes, 黑马磁力鈥檚 Trevor St. Jean put the Rivermen ahead 1-0.
But during a five-on-three power play, Surrey鈥檚 Desi Burgart notched the equalizer. Connor Sundquist and Ty Westgard struck for goals 1:32 apart.
Alec Capstick made it 3-2 but his goal came with just 40 seconds to play.
Westgard and 黑马磁力鈥檚 Ethan Leyh exchanged first period goals in game two and then Surrey鈥檚 John Wesley and the Rivermen鈥檚 Connor Marshall traded goals 21 seconds apart early in the second.
Matthew Campese and Chase Danol struck for goals before intermission for a 4-2 Eagles lead.
黑马磁力鈥檚 Spencer Berry made it 4-3 with just over two minutes to go before Westgard scored into the empty net to seal the two-goal victory.
Games three and four are March 5 and 6 at the South Surrey Arena with 黑马磁力 needing at least one victory to force a game five back at the Preston Centre on March 8.
The Eagles were 18-8-2-1 on home ice while the 黑马磁力 Rivermen struggled away from 黑马磁力, going 6-13-8-2.
鈥淚 think we have been pretty good on the big ice,鈥� Henderson said about South Surrey Arena鈥檚 bigger ice surface. 鈥淲e like the way building suits up with our speed.
鈥�(We just need to) play our game, use our speed and get pucks deeps and make the most of our opportunity.鈥�
sports@langleytimes.com
Like us on and follow us on
