The North Island Eagles Midget squad had their wings clipped by the Port Alberni Bulldogs in play-off action Saturday.
The teams started out evenly matched. A solid effort by both squads saw the score tied 1-1 going into the second period break.
The Bulldogs came back with a vengeance scoring five unanswered goals, before a switch in goaltender. The Eagles settled back down and held the Bulldogs to just two more goals in the third. They final score was 8-1.
“We played great in the first period,” said Coach Aaron Hinton.
“Just three minutes after the break killed us,” Hinton said.
“It was just a mental lapse.”
The Eagles finished second in the Tier 3 north division and set their sights on a semifinal matchup in Sooke this weekend. The Midgets face the Thunderbirds at 3 p.m. in an elimination game to determine the final berth into the best-of-3 Vancouver Island Tier 3 championship series.
Juan de Fuca travels to Port Alberni in the other semifinal.