Morley's empty-netter the game-winner against Caps

Rarely does an empty-net goal decide a hockey game, but that's exactly what happened to the Cowichan Valley Capitals Friday night at Cowichan Arena.

The Caps pulled their goal while trailing the Surrey Eagles 3-2 in the late stages of a B.C. Hockey League game. The move back-fired and the Eagles' Tyler Morley scored into the yawning cage.

Little did anyone realize at the time that would be the game-winning goal. That oddity occurred when Caps' Nicholas Wong scored with one second remaining to make the final count 4-3 in the Eagles' favour.

It was only 1-0 entering the third period for the Eagles. The teams alternated goals throughout the third, with Caps' captain Joey Massingham netting a pair in vain.

For one of the few times in recent games, the Caps held a wide margin of 31-21 in shots-on-goal, but Vinny Lessard came up big for the Eagles.

The Caps have now lost five in a row heading into a game against the arch-rival Nanaimo Clippers Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Cowichan Arena.