It was finally a Sunday to remember for the Squamish Eagles midget rep hockey team.
After losses on home ice the past two Sundays, the Eagles put together a positive performance, fighting back from a two-goal deficit to tie the visiting Coquitlam Chiefs 3-3-3 on Sunday (Dec. 16).
“They were pretty sluggish to start, but picked up their game in the last two periods,” said Eagles head coach Tony Mahood. “They’ve actually been playing pretty well lately, just not so much at home.”
Squamish picked up wins on Dec. 10 against Cloverdale and against Ridge Meadows on Thursday (Dec. 13) and now are riding a three-game undefeated streak.
Dan Munn opened the scoring about 90 seconds into the game after being set up by Isshin Chiyasu, but the Chiefs responded two minutes later. Coquitlam added two more in the first period to skate out of the opening frame with a 3-1 lead.
The second period saw the Eagles have several glorious chances to cut into the lead, but they couldn’t beat the Chiefs goalie. Ryan Milia blasted the puck wide on a breakaway midway through the second period and Tak Gray rung one off the post, but the Eagles remained down two goals after the second period.
Munn picked up his second goal of the game early in the third, with Dan Lowe drawing the assist, and the Eagles quickly turned on the offensive pressure for most of the final frame. The pressure eventually paid off when Colby Mahood scored the tying goal with 4:40 left in the game. Munn and Chiyasu picked up the helpers. Nothing was settled in the final four minutes.
Coach Mahood praised the play of Munn, who was in on all three Squamish goals and also the play of returning forward Tyler Hitchmongh. The Eagles assistant captain returned from a knee injury and was a force on the ice, hitting almost anything that moved.
“He’s a big kid and can make an impact out there,” Mahood said of Hitchmongh.
Mahood said he’s pleased with the disciplined play of his team. The Eagles picked up only six minutes in penalties against Coquitlam and the squad has been receiving the sportsmanship point (given to teams with less than 20 penalty minutes) more often than not.
Squamish’s record now sits at five wins, three losses and two ties. The Eagles travel to Ridge Meadows on Thursday (Dec. 20) and Mission on Sunday (Dec. 23) before taking a break over the holidays.
For more information on the team, visit www.squamishminorhockey.com.
