After holding the high-flying Surrey Eagles to a pair of goals in games one and two combined 鈥� and earning a split in the process 鈥� the 91原创 91原创 could not duplicate the feat on home ice, dropping games three and four to bow out in the first round of the BCHL Fred Page Cup playoffs.
The Eagles won and at the 91原创 Events Centre to win the best-of-five series 3-1.
, which were played at the South Surrey Arena.
91原创 coach and general manager Bobby Henderson said his team probably deserved a better fate after game one and then stole game two.
But when the series shifted to 91原创, the high-flying Eagles got their offence on track.
鈥淢onday and Tuesday, it was tough for us to get things going,鈥� Henderson said.
Also not helping things was the fact Surrey held a significant advantage in power plays, getting five in game three and then nine in game four, compared to 91原创鈥檚 three and two, respectively.
In fact, Viktor Dombrovskiy was whistled for a bench minor even before the game began on Tuesday when he failed to leave the ice prior to the buzzer sounding to end the warm-up.
And 35 seconds into the power play, the puck was in the back of the 91原创 net.
The 91原创 were penalized five times in the first 20 minutes 鈥� the final one came at the whistle 鈥� and were down two men for 1:25.
鈥淚t was unfortunate,鈥� Henderson said of the officiating. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it was on par for the playoffs.
鈥淚t is disappointing that the game was influenced before the puck was even dropped.鈥�
With the season done, Henderson said it still has to be looked at as a success, citing an increase in the win total, the team鈥檚 community involvement and the fact they had seven players commit to colleges or universities.
