Smoke Eaters 5 Eagles 4 (OT)

Brandon Long scored in the final minute of the first overtime period to give the Smokies a hard-earned 5-4 victory in Surrey tonight.

The Calgarian took a centring pass from Erik Cooper and floated a backhand past Eagles goalie Andrew Hunt to give Trail their third win in four games.

It was a wild one, to say the least. Surrey jumped out to a 3-1 first period lead on a hat-trick from 16 year-old Demico Hannoun, with Trail's only opening-period tally coming from one of three former Eagles on the Smokies roster, Connor Tiechko.

It was another former Surrey player, Cooper, who took over in the second. The Alaskan scored two middle-frame goals to lift the Smokies into a 3-3 tie after 40 minutes.

Tiechko snapped home his second of the night early in the third before a late equalizer from Alex Hagen, who found himself alone in the slot after Robert Lindores created a turnover at the Trail line.

Surrey were not without chances to win. A Brandon Morley shot sailed over the net in overtime, and Brandon Tanev struck iron too.

Lyndon Stanwood made 24 saves to collect his 6th victory as a Smokie, while Hunt was tagged with the loss.

Needless to say, another gutsy win by the Smokies, the second straight in which they've trailed by two goals in the second period. Cooper, with four points against his former club, was nothing short of fantastic, and a well-deserving second star.

Up Next: Trail visits the Chilliwack Chiefs on a night when the Fred Page Cup will be on display at Prospera Centre. Faceoff is at 7, join me on Smokies Ustream for all the action beginning at 6:50.

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