Game Story

Surrey Eagles vs Chilliwack Chiefs: Game 2 Preview

by Ryan Ho

Bounce Back?

Chilliwack, BC – After a tough 40 minute start to their 1st round playoff series against the Chilliwack Chiefs, the Surrey Eagles finally found their game but it was ultimately too little too late. As such, the series will roll on to game 2 with the Chiefs holding a 1-0 lead in the best of seven playoff series. It’s not time to hit the panic button, but the Eagles will need to show not just their fans, but themselves that they’re able to hang with the Chiefs inside the Chilliwack Coliseum.

It’ll be Tommy Scarfone who’ll make his playoff debut after Reece Klassen gave up 5 goals on 37 shots. As for the lineup, Brendan Kim isn’t expected to return and the Eagles may be without another defensemen. The full roster will be posted on our social media channels later today.

Who To Watch Out For

After such a lacklustre start, it was important to see the boys bounce back and play a strong 3rd period to nearly claw themselves all the way back from a 3 goal deficit. The theme tonight will be to take that momentum, and transfer it through the full 60 minutes. In order to do so, the Eagles are going to need to continue leaning on their top dogs. For the Chiefs, it was one of their NHL draft picks that stole the show in game 1. Here are tonight’s players to watch for in game 2.

Surrey Eagles: Cristophe Tellier

The Eagles top line of Tellier, Hudson Schandor, and Gabe Schovanek was the only line which produced offense for the Eagles last night, and while their secondary scoring finds their game in the playoffs, the top line will need to be exceptional. Tellier was the only member of the line to not score a goal in game 1, but his 2 assists helped get Schovanek and Schandor their 1st of the playoffs. Tellier had 28 goals in the regular season, he’ll need to get on the board tonight.

Chilliwack Chiefs: Cooper Moore

Last night was the Cooper Moore show, as the Detroit Red Wings draft pick was all over the ice, breaking up plays in his own end before making stuff happen in the other. Moore had 2 assists in the win last night for the Chiefs. Moore had 33 points in his only season in the BCHL, and will look to continue to play great defense tonight to try and help the Chiefs take a stranglehold of the series.

3 Keys To The Game

The Eagles know they’ll need to be better over the course of the entire 60 minutes, but getting some sort of pressure in the 3rd period should give the team a boost. However, the improvements don’t stop there, and as such, here are tonight’s 3 keys to the game.

  • Powerplay: The Eagles had a number of great opportunities on the powerplay, including a 1 minute 5 on 3 opportunity, but could only go 1 for 6 with the man advantage. That isn’t going to be good enough, and the boys know it. If the Eagles get 6 opportunities, look for an improved powerplay to help the Eagles gain an advantage.
  • Simplify: The boys had 13 shots through 2 periods last night, and part of the problem was it looked like everyone on the ice was looking for the perfect play, instead of looking for 2nd and 3rd chance opportunities or taking the looks which were given to them. Sure, their 1st goal was a thing of beauty, but if the boys can’t score more than their opponent it’s not going to matter. Look for a simplified effort tonight.
  • #InTommyWeTrust: Goaltending will always be a key for this Eagles team, but the last time Scarfone started a game in the Chilliwack Coliseum, he picked up his first BCHL shutout. Scarfone will need to be at his absolute best as the Eagles try to even the series.

Summary

It’s going to be a tense, chippy game inside the Chilliwack Coliseum tonight, as the series moves on to game 2. The Eagles are still very much in this series, but they’ll need to play a full 60 minute game with improvements made to their powerplay, goaltending, and their ability to simplify the game. It’ll set up an exciting Saturday night before the series moves back to Surrey.

Can’t make the game tonight? No worries. You can catch the broadcast on HockeyTV and Mixlr tonight, starting at 6:50pm. Puck drop for tonight’s game will be 7:00pm.