The North Island Atom Eagles won their first playoff game in a high scoring, back and forth clash against the
Nanaimo Clippers on Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Doug Bondue Arena in Port Alice, but "it wasn't their best
game," said Coach Doug Grant. "We tried to play too much as individuals." The Eagles got on the scoreboard
first with a goal at 10:01 from Kai Verbrugge, and The Clippers responded back with goals at 6:03 and 4:08 to
take the lead 2-1. The Eagles' Zachary Spafford scored with 2:13 left to tie it up, only for the Clippers to score
again with 40 seconds left to take a 3-2 lead going into the 2nd period.The Eagles' Ethan Fuller scored two
goals in the 2nd period to take a 4-3 lead, but it was the 3rd period where the action really picked up. The
Eagles scored six goals courtesy of Spafford (x3), Jack Barrett, William Grant, and Tye Morash to take a 10-7
lead, wrestling the playoff win away from the Clippers' grasp. Grant commented after the game that "We
managed to pull out the win, but we will have to play better in the semi-finals."