Surrey Eagles vs Chilliwack Chiefs: Game 3 Preview

Protect ‘The Nest’

Surrey, BC – After a rough start to the series for the Surrey Eagles, they’ll play game 3 against the Chilliwack Chiefs inside the South Surrey Arena, looking to change their fortunes after dropping the first 2 games inside the Chilliwack Coliseum. It’s a large hole for an Eagles team which hasn’t had their share of bounces yet, but these Eagles have the character to climb out of this hole. This team has fought through adversity all season, and it’d be foolish to think they wouldn’t have to do it again in the playoffs.

Kieran O’Hearn will sit his 2nd of a 3 game suspension, and there’s still no word on if Brendan Kim will return to the lineup as well. As for the goaltending matchup, barring any changes to Reece Klassen, look for Tommy Scarfone to get the start after allowing 2 goals on 24 shots in game 2. The full roster will be posted on our social media channels later today.

Who To Watch Out For

The Eagles haven’t had any secondary scoring in this series. As such, it’s put them in quite a hole as the Chiefs did a good job of shutting down the top line. However, Surrey was the better team for a majority of game 2, and they’ll be looking to get rewarded for a similar effort tonight on home ice. Here’s tonight’s players to watch out for.

Surrey Eagles: Hudson Schandor

Yes, the Eagles need secondary scoring to win this series. However, with the boys down 2 games to none in the series there’s no better guy to look to than their captain. Schandor had 61 points in the regular season in 56 games, and had a 3 point effort in game 1 to try and will the boys back in it. Schandor’s leadership qualities are top notch, and he’ll look to lead the Eagles to a game 3 win.

Chilliwack Chiefs: Mathieu Caron

Goaltending wins championships, steals series, and steals games. On Saturday night, Caron made 32 stops, many of them on quality Eagles scoring chances, to keep the Chiefs in front and help them win game 2. Caron has been strong so far in the series, and if he continues to play like he has it’s going to be a tough puzzle to crack.

3 Keys To The Game

On Saturday, the biggest key for the Eagles was to play the entire 60 minutes, and they did that. They didn’t come out of Chilliwack with the win they were looking for, but they bounced back in a way that brought hope to the dressing room. Tonight, their 3 keys to the game will revolve around the problems which sunk them in the 2nd game of this series.

  • Special Teams: The Eagles have to be better on special teams, plain and simple. They’ve only killed off 2 of the Chiefs 5 power plays, and they’re 1 for 8 in the series with the man advantage. It’s not good enough, and it’ll cost them the series if they can’t figure it out.
  • Olympic Sized Ice: As the series moves back to Surrey, the Eagles get the luxury of returning to their olympic sized ice surface to try and find some new found momentum. The Eagles went 4-1-1 in February while playing at home, as they finally found their game on the bigger ice surface. The Eagles also went 4-0 against the Chiefs in Surrey this season, and they need that trend to continue.
  • 2nd and 3rd Chances: The last key for tonight’s game will be getting 2nd and 3rd chance opportunities on Caron. After such a strong performance on Saturday, it’s apparent they won’t beat Caron if he can see it. The team needs to get traffic in front, and bang home any 2nd and 3rd chance opportunities in front of the Chilliwack net. It’s not going to be easy, but the playoffs never are.

Summary

The Eagles are up against it. They’re down 2 games in the 7 game series, and need to find a way to solve the puzzle that is Mathieu Caron. Like previously stated this team has been great at fighting through adversity all season. As the Eagles stare down a potential 3-0 series hole, there’s no better time to soar above their opponents then right now at home.


Tickets are still available for tonight’s game 3 showdown between the Eagles and the Chiefs! Can’t make the game tonight? You can catch the broadcast on HockeyTV and Mixlr tonight, starting at 7:20pm. Puck drop for tonight’s game will be 7:30pm.