The North Island Peewee Eagles had a game against the tier 2 Saanich Braves on Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Chilton Regional Arena in Port McNeill, and the team was clearly fired up to play in front of their hometown crowd.
The Eagles got out to quick start in the 1st period, winning the first face off of the game and taking the puck down the ice into the Braves zone. The Eagles’ Tyler Roper netted a hard wrist shot just eight seconds into the period, and the Eagles didn’t stop scoring goals there.
With 5:12 left in the 1st period, the Eagles’ captain Ethan Bono scored a beautiful backhand goal off a rebound to put his team up 2-0.
The Eagles’ Evan Manke then added their third goal of the game with 3:49 left on the clock.
The 2nd period featured more of the same. The Eagles consistently beat the Braves to the puck, made the better passes, and capitalized on their scoring chances.
At 14:32, Kai Verbrugge jammed in a breakaway goal to put the Eagles up 4-1, and then Bono, David Klatt, and William Grant all added goals to make it 7-2 going into the 3rd period.
The 3rd period was a little quieter. The Eagles played well defensively and held onto their lead. Brandon Brotchie netted the final goal of the game with 21 seconds left, giving the Eagles the blowout win 8-3.
As of this writing, the Eagles are 3-2 in preseason tiering, with wins over the tier 2 Juan De Fuca Grizzlies, the tier 3 Campbell River Tyees, and the tier 2 Saanich Braves.
