Eagles 5 Rivermen 4 (OT)

Nathan Renouf played overtime hero, and Devon Fordyce stopped 40 shots as the Eagles edged the Langley Rivermen 5-4 in overtime Sunday at South Surrey Arena.

The victory snapped a five-game winless skid for Surrey, as the Eagles moved 14 points up on Chilliwack for the final playoff berth in the Mainland division.

Surrey opened the scoring late in the first period on a delayed penalty call when Danton Heinen, from the goalline, found the far side of Brock Crossthwaite's net for his 20th goal of the season. Langley equalized on a Charlie Pelnik point shot 95 seconds later, sending the two teams to the intermission square at a goal apiece.

The hosts would use point shots to their own advantage in period two, though. Heinen re-directed a Matt Dawson blast 3:36 into the second to give Surrey a 2-1 lead, then on a power-play Dawson would find the back of the net after a Chase McMurphy one-timer pass at 16:00.

Langley's Jakob Reichert clawed the visitors a goal closer after the Rivermen were thwarted on an odd-man rush, and the Eagles took a 3-2 lead into the third period.

McMurphy put Surrey back up by two near the mid-point of period three. After the Rivermen gave the puck away at the Eagles blue line, the Chestermere, Alberta product was sent down the right wing where he slapped the puck through Crossthwaite for his second goal in as many games.

Undaunted, Langley would find a way to force overtime with a pair of rebound goals, first from Tyson Witala then a power-play marker off the stick of James Robinson. Eagles netminder Devon Fordyce stopped 40 shots Sunday, 19 alone in the third period as the Rivermen pressed offensively.

Overtime would present another opportunity for Surrey to climb back into the win column, though, and it was the Renoufs, reunited after a five-game absence for Jonah, who would take advantage. After Jonah gained the offensive zone, Nathan Renouf deflected home Philippe Johansson's point shot past Crossthwaite's left arm, giving the Eagles their first win in 16 days.

Four Eagles; Heinen, Anthony Conti, Dawson, and McMurphy enjoyed multi-point games, while Fordyce earned his ninth win of the season in goal.

My Three Stars:
1. Danton Heinen, Surrey
2. Jakob Reichert, Langley
3. Matt Dawson, Surrey

Up Next: Surrey begins a two-game Interior swing Friday with a rematch against Trail.