It was by far the chippiest game of the three we've seen in the series. It was also the most lopsided game on the scoreboard as the Surrey Eagles trounced the Express 7-1 in game 3 taking a 3-0 strangle hold on the series.
The nastiness between the two teams began in the opening minute when public enemy #1 for the Surrey Eagles Mitchell Deacon hit defenceman Riley Sweeeney in the corner boards leaving the defenceman bloodied up and needing to head to the room for repairs. Sweeney did return in the second period.
That set the tone for what would be a very chippy first two periods between the two clubs.
Game 3 wasn't much different from the first two games. Surrey's powerplay produced, the Express' didn't. Surrey's top players found the scoresheet, the Express' didn't. Only difference was Surrey's depth chipped in a little more offensively.
The Eagles top line of Richard Vanderhoek, Scott Holm and Bradley McGowan combined for 5 points. 2 goals and 3 assists.
Again, special teams played a deciding role in this game in favour of Surrey. The Eagles went 2 for 5 on the powerplay. And they killed off all 9 Express powerplays. That included 3 separate 5 on 3's. The Express are now 0 for 19 on the powerplay in the first three games of this series. To add a little more salt in the Express' powerplay wounds, Tyler Morley and Robert Lindores shorthanded goals in the second period to blow the game open. Lindores finished with a pair of goals. Jeff Vanderlugt also scored for the Eagles.
Khaleed Devji was pulled in the second period after allowing 4 goals on 22 shots. Billy McGladrey turned aside 12 of 15 shots in just over 30 minutes of action. Karel St. Laurent again was solid in the Eagles crease turning aside 23 of 24 Express shots.
The Express will look to avoid being swept in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history in game 4 Tuesday night in Coquitlam.
1 comment:
Not an expert, but it seems that this team was too soft right from training camp. Would like to see less finesse and more physical play next year. The lack of success this past 3 years means something is wrong with the approach to putting a team together.
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