Eagles 5 SilverBacks 1

The Eagles scored early and often Friday in a 5-1 victory over the Salmon Arm SilverBacks at South Surrey Arena.

Danton Heinen and Chase McMurphy each had three-point nights, while Devon Fordyce stopped 29 of 30 shots to earn his fifteenth victory of the season as the Eagles kicked off their busy weekend in style.

All five of Surrey's goals came in the opening fourty minutes, as the Eagles remained relentless on the forecheck, forcing turnovers and taking advantage of opportunities in front of SilverBacks netminder Angus Redmond.

McMurphy opened the scoring 4:32 into the game on a one-timer from the low slot. The Chestermere, Alberta product fired an Anthony Conti centring pass past Redmond's right pad, before Jonah Renouf roofed a wrister from in tight just under ten minutes later to give the home side a 2-0 lead after one period.

Surrey started the second period on the power-play, and found paydirt in the opening minute of the middle frame through Heinen. The Eagle captain scored the first of his two goals, both power-play markers, accepting a feed from McMurphy to beat Redmond at the 54-second mark, then wiring a hard snapper from the right-wing circle at 11:02 to give the hosts a four-goal lead.

The Eagles played Friday with three affiliate skaters, one of whom set up another for his first BCHL goal on his Eagles debut just under a minute later. After Ty Westgard stripped a SilverBack of the puck in the offensive zone, a pass came through to defenseman Nigel Swab, who glanced a shot in off Redmond's arm from the slot. Swab, a defenseman with the Junior "B" Columbia Valley Rockies, was making his Junior "A" debut along with teammate Matt Houston, while Westgard tallied an assist for the second time in as many Surrey outings.

Alex Gillies put the visitors on the board late in the second period with a picture-perfect wrist shot from the right-wing circle, a goal which rounded out the scoring despite the Eagles enjoying a pair of two-man advantages in period three.

The victory brings Surrey to within five points of idle Coquitlam for third place in the Mainland division. Both teams have five games left in the regular season.

My Three Stars:
1. Danton Heinen, Surrey
2. Chase McMurphy, Surrey
3. Ty Westgard, Surrey

Up Next: The Eagles close out the season series against Chilliwack with a rubber match Saturday at Prospera Centre. Game time is 7:00.