In what turned out to be the most exciting hockey game of the year so far, the North Island Bantam Eagles went head-to-head with the Comox Valley Chiefs at the Don Cruickshank Memorial Arena in Port Hardy on Sunday, Dec. 11.
The game was a nail biter right from the start, with both teams battling for control of the puck and looking to score the first goal of the game.
The Eagles’ Ryan Patterson was throwing some good hits against the boards and on open ice which helped to set the tone in the 1st period, but it was the Chiefs who got out to a 1-0 lead with a goal from Calum Barr at 11:17, and then continued to hold onto it for the rest of the period.
In the 2nd, Joey Grant got the Eagles on the scoreboard with a nice goal at 10:23 to tie the game right back up.
The Eagles continued to pressure the Chiefs deep into the 3rd period.
Chelsea Noel got the puck in front of the net and she came up clutch with a great backhand goal at 6:26 to give the Eagles the lead 2-1.
The Chiefs battled back down the ice and refused to lay down and die.
Nolan Brinks got the pass and scored with 4:33 left on the clock to tie it 2-2.
The Eagles desperately attacked for the go-ahead goal with some last second attempts, but ultimately weren’t able to capitalize before time ran out.
Final score, a 2-2 tie.
The Eagles are currently undefeated, leading their tier 4 division with a stellar 5-0-2 record, with 48 goals for and 21 goals against.