Eagles 7 Express 5

Nathan Renouf, Joseph Drapluk and Danton Heinen each had multi-goal games to help the Eagles to their second straight win, 7-5 over the Coquitlam Express Wednesday at South Surrey Arena.

Surrey scored twice in the opening 32 seconds of the third period to break Wednesday's game open, then withstood an Express rally to move to within one point of third place in the Mainland division.

The Eagles opened the scoring 5:37 into the game when Renouf fired home his fourth goal of the season before Corey Mackin equalized things midway through the opening frame.

Surrey pounced on BCHL Player of the Week Gordie Defiel, scoring twice more in the final 3:01 of the period. First, Drapluk finished off a 2-on-1 after a nifty setup from Heinen, then Jonah Renouf put home a snapshot after a quick feed from behind the net from his brother.

The teams traded goals in the second period, Surrey's coming on a penalty shot after Heinen was hauled down while bearing down on Defiel after winning a race to a loose puck in the neutral zone. The rookie forward coolly slotted his tenth goal of the season blocker-side on Defiel to put the hosts up 4-2 after 40 minutes.

The Eagles were well on their way to victory after the rapid-fire goals to start the third, but Coquitlam chipped away at their deficit, first when a loose puck made its way to Daniel Lange just outside the crease of Surrey starter Devon Fordyce. Lange tucked his sixth of the season home with 8:53 gone in the period.

Captain Ryan Rosenthal cut the lead to 6-4 on a pretty solo rush 2:20 later, then veteran blueliner Zach Hodder brought the Express back to within a goal with six minutes left. Surrey didn't buckle, though, with Heinen eventually finding the empty net with 30 seconds left to seal the win.

Fordyce made 32 saves to collect the victory, while Defiel was tagged with the loss.

My Three Stars:
1. Danton Heinen, Surrey
2. Ryan Rosenthal, Coquitlam
3. Nathan Renouf, Surrey

Up Next: The two teams meet again Friday in Coquitlam. Game time is 7:00 pm.

Tidbits: The Eagles were missing four overage players to injury and suspension, and dressed three affiliate callup forwards. Jonah Renouf now has goals in four straight games. 9 of Heinen's 11 goals this season have been scored on home ice.