The Merritt Centennials were on the wrong end of the special teams battle, and the Eagles were red hot with the extra man going 4/7 to win by a score of 7-2 on Saturday night.
The Eagles and Cents traded chances in the first period, and an off-speed knuckle puck was the difference maker off a scrambled faceoff for the Eagles as Ramsay was able to score to give Surrey the 1-0 lead. That’s how it would stay after 1. Shots were 11-5 in favour of Surrey.
In the 2nd, the powerplay started to go to work for the Eagles. Tellier and Schlaht used the extra man to quickly extend the lead to 3-0 just 3 and a half minutes into the period. The Eagles got another even strength goal from Ramsay before Ben Ward was able to answer on the powerplay. Taking the puck off the draw, he was able to fight it to the net and take a couple whacks to get it across the line and break the goose egg for the Cents. Jerzy Orchard was able to wire one after it was put on a tee by Payton Matsui to bring the Cents within 2 after 2. Shots were 25-21 Eagles at that point.
Despite pressing early on in the third the Cents couldn’t beat Reece Klassen and eventually took a penalty that proved costly. At the 9:10 mark Schovanek added another on the PP for the Eagles, Kenny Riddett then scored against the grain on a breakaway, and Alami added a late powerplay marker to make it 7-2 the final. The Surrey Eagles find themselves clinching a playoff spot, while the Cents find themselves on the outside looking in, trailing West Kelowna by 9 points now for the final spot. Final shots 37-30 Surrey.
After the game, Assistant Coach Zach Wright said the Cents young D got caught a bit.
“We over extended a bit on the PK, and a skilled team like Surrey is going to make you pay.”
The Cents now look to right the ship on the road against the Chilliwack Chiefs on Wednesday.
