Game Story

Surrey Eagles vs Alberni Valley Bulldogs Pre Game Report

by Ryan Ho

Closing 2019

Surrey, BC – A calendar year filled with adversity, change, and renewed optimism will come to a close for the Surrey Eagles (14-17-2-3) tonight as they’ll play their last game of the 2019 against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (19-14-0-2). The Eagles have given fans renewed confidence in the team through an up and down 2019-20 B.C Hockey League campaign, but a win tonight could see them just 1 point behind the Langley Rivermen for 3rd place in the Mainland division. The Bulldogs helped them out last night, with a 6-4 win over Langley, but will look to damper the Eagles spirits heading into Surrey’s 12 day holiday break.

Against a tough opponent like the Bulldogs, Scarfone will get the net tonight as the Eagles look for their 15th win of the season. Kieran O’Hearn is also expected to return to the lineup after serving his 2 game suspension. Check out the full roster on our social media channels later today.

Who To Watch Out For

The last time these 2 teams faced off against each other, the Eagles looked to be well on their way to a win until the Bulldogs stormed back for 5 goals in the 3rd period en route to a 6-3 victory. Both teams feature quite a few new faces from their mid September showdown, and a couple of them will look to make their mark in the rematch inside the South Surrey Arena. Here are tonight’s key players to watch out for.

Surrey Eagles: Kieran O’Hearn

O’Hearn has been a great addition to this blueline since being acquired late in October from the Trail Smoke Eaters, but unfortunately missed the last two games. With O’Hearn coming back to the lineup tonight, look for him to make an impact on both ends of the rink to end his 2019 portion of this year on a high note. Up to tonight, O’Hearn has played 34 games (17 with both Trail and Surrey) on the year. He’s gotten 8 assists with the Eagles, and has a season total of 1 goal and 12 points. Kieran will look to continue his great play with the Eagles this afternoon.

Alberni Valley Bulldogs: Matthew Grouchy

The newest forward for the Bulldogs, Grouchy is a former QMJHL player who played 3 1/2 seasons split between 3 teams (Charlottetown Islanders, Quebec Remparts, Gatineau Olympiques). Grouchy was a capable scorer over in the CHL’s most eastern league, putting up 46 goals, and 75 assists for 121 points in 207 QMJHL games. Since coming over to play for the Bulldogs, Grouchy has 4 assists in just 3 games and looks to be one of, if not their top forward. Grouchy is another top end scorer for a Bulldogs team which is looking to make some noise in the Island division, and he’ll look to continue his hot start.

3 Keys To The Game

The Eagles played well on Friday night despite the loss to the Prince George Spruce Kings, but they’re up against a tougher test to close out their 2019 portion of the season. The Bulldogs have some high quality 20 year old forwards, their new major junior addition, and defenders who can quickly move the puck back up the ice. The Eagles are going to need to play another full 60 minutes if they look to come out of ‘The Nest’ with a win. Here are the 3 keys to today’s game.

  • Special Teams: The Eagles biggest flaw in their loss on Friday was their inability to do anything on special teams. The Eagles gave up a shorthanded goal, went 0 for 6 on the powerplay, and gave up a powerplay goal of their own and couldn’t come back from it. Simply put, the Eagles need to be better whether they’re up, or down a man tonight.
  • Strong forecheck: The Bulldogs blue liners feature a bunch of quality defenders who can move the puck up the ice quickly. It’ll play even better on the olympic sized ice which ‘The Nest’ possesses. The Eagles will need to get in on the Bulldogs defensemen, and pressure them into making passes which might not be ideal for the Eagles to have success tonight.
  • Greasy goals: While both Eagles goals last night were off beautiful shots, the boys are going up against a tougher team this afternoon. As such, the Eagles can’t rely on scoring pretty goals all the time if they want to come out on top. Surrey needs to get traffic in front of the Bulldogs starter, get shots through, and bang home rebounds in order to come away with a win tonight.

Summary

The Eagles have had an up and down 2019 portion to their schedule, but they’ll look to end it on a high with some revenge against a tough Island division adversary. The Bulldogs are no joke, but if the Eagles can improve their special teams play, enforce a strong forecheck, and score a few goals in tight, they’ll pull through and come away with their 15th win before 2020.

Tickets are still available for tonight’s special game! You can walk up to the box office starting at 3:00pm to buy your tickets, or visit our single game tickets page and start the preorder process. Can’t make the game tonight? No worries. You can catch the broadcast on HockeyTV and Mixlr tonight, starting at 3:50pm. Puck drop for tonight’s game will be 4:00pm.