Surrey, BC – The Surrey Eagles have one of the youngest teams in the B.C. Hockey League, but hardly looked the part on Friday night at the South Surrey Arena as they started fast and rolled to a comprehensive 7-2 victory over the defending Fred Page Cup champion and Mainland Division rival Prince George Spruce Kings.
Winger Brandon Santa Juana scored a powerplay goal for Surrey at 1:13 of the first period to kick-start the Eagles, who led 3-0 after the first period and never allowed the visitors to get closer than two goals.
Winger Gabe Schovanek finally broke through with his first BCHL goal; linemate Buddy Johnson had his first two-goal game, and an assist, while their centerman Sean Ramsay had two assists as the trio of rookies combined for seven points.
The Eagles’ top line of Holden Katzalay, captain Hudson Schandor and Cristophe Tellier were on their game as well. Katzalay, who has rocketed up to sixth in the BCHL scoring race, scored twice and Tellier scored once. Each of the three enjoyed three-point nights. Katzalay has now posted 12 points in his past six games, while both his linemates are also now among the league’s top 20 scorers.
Goaltender Thomas Scarfone was at his combative best, making a number of big and timely saves that boost a team’s confidence. Scarfone stopped 32 of the 34 shots fired at him, and was only beaten when the Eagles were playing a man down.
After struggling through a tough couple of months to open the 2019-20 season, the Eagles appear to have collectively put that in their rear-view mirror. They are now 3-2-1 in the past six games, and have secured points in three straight outings.
“I thought a lot of our depth players showed up tonight. Sean Ramsay was great tonight. He was skating, he was creating. That line was terrific. The top line obviously did the job as well, but all four lines were contributing offensively at times,” said an obviously happy Eagles head coach Cam Keith following his team’s victory, which at times looked almost routine. “It’s a huge step for us,” said Keith. “It was easy for us,” not meaning to disparage the Spruce Kings, who only two nights earlier had lost in a shootout to the 18-4 Coquitlam Express. Prince George worked hard but couldn’t have been pleased with what was too often a sloppy performance on their side of center ice. “And we took advantage of that, we didn’t play down, we elevated our game,” noted Keith.
On an all-round positive night for the home team, the Eagles, who came into the game with the 15th-ranked powerplay in the 17-team league, limping along at only 14.6%, had two goals skating with the man advantage.
With the win, Surrey improved its record to 8-13-0-2, which leaves them tied with the Langley Rivermen in points and two points back of the Spruce Kings, although both those teams have played one less game.
Surrey can escape the Mainland Division cellar on Sunday when they play host to the Rivermen at The Nest.
