PORT McNEILL—Mathew Saunders gave a captain’s performance Saturday, notching five goals and two assists as the Eagles peewees dispatched Port Alberni 8-3 at Chilton Regional Arena.
When Saunders opened the scoring after just seven seconds and the home side ran out to a 4-0 lead inside the first eight minutes, it seemed like a cricket score was on the cards.
But the game settled considerably after the opening salvo and got as close as 6-3 until a pair of late strikes from the Eagles restored the dominant scoreline.
Rhys Dutcyvich, Joey Grant and Luke Gage all found the net for the Eagles, with Dutcyvich adding five assists and Gage four.
The Eagles were unable to carry the momentum from Saturday’s win into a Sunday morning rematch at Chilton Arena, as the Bulldogs ran away with a 6-0 win.
“We had our chances, but they had a really good game, and their goalie played great,” Eagles head coach Marty Gage said as he credited the visitors. “They earned it.”
Asked the difference between the two days’ showings for his squad, Gage didn’t hesitate.
“The competitive level,” he said. “(Saturday) our guys were attacking the puck in all three zones. And they were disciplined.
“They played like they wanted to go earn it. (Sun)day, they came out like they thought it was already in the bag.”