By: Isabella Urbani PHOTO: Brandon David (BrandonDavidImages)
SURREY – The Surrey Eagles (15-11-3-0) closed out their Fred Page Cup-winning 2024 year with a victory against one of the top contenders in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (18-8-1-0) on teddy bear toss night. Even before the puck dropped, the evening was full of celebrations. The Eagles showcased their holiday hampers and hosted six members from last year’s team, including former captain Ty Brasington, currently at Clarkson University, and the reigning BCHL Goalie of the Year, Ajeet Gundarah from Sacred Heart University.
Gavin Rocha let the teddy bears fly as he tallied his sixth goal of the season top shelf off the face-off win from Cameron Caron, who picked up his sixth point in three games. 1-0 Surrey. With just five seconds to spare in the opening frame, Alberni tied the game at one off a second chance opportunity at the front of the net. 1-1. Shots 14-13 Alberni.
A scoreless second period despite Alberni controlling the shots 18-6, tilted the stage for the third period. Joven Brar rose to the occasion for the Eagles, scoring his first of the season, throwing a shot on net from Shawn Leary and Jagjeevan Phangura, which found its way into the back of the night to restore Surrey’s lead. 2-1 Surrey.
Special teams secured the win for the home team, as Surrey scored their final two goals of the game on the power play and shorthanded. Teddy bear toss goal scorer Rocha got his second goal of the night, potting the cross-ice feed from Brandon Gill and Yuchan Kong, who extended his point streak to five games with the secondary assist. 3-1 Surrey.
Gill upgraded his assist on the Eagles’ insurance marker by skating home the empty netter on the penalty kill to put Surrey ahead by three and notch his third goal in two goals. 4-1 Surrey. Shots 19-10 Surrey.
With the victory, Aidan Fischer ties Jaiden Sharma for the team lead in wins, as he stopped 28 shots in the second and third after letting in one goal in the first period — stopping 40+ shots for the second home game in a row.
The FortisBC Player of the Game was Brar with the insurance marker. Gill picked up the third star for his two-point performance (1 G, 1 A). Rocha was the second star of the night with half of the team’s goals, and Fischer in consecutive home games picked up the first star, stopping 41/42 shots.
The Surrey Eagles (16-11-3-0) finished the first half of the season fourth in the Coastal Conference and will return to take on the ninth-seeded, Prince George Spruce Kings (9-15-2-1) on January 5. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.
