Sunday Showdown
This afternoon, the Surrey Eagles (2-3-0) look to snap their 3 game losing streak against their crosstown rivals, the Langley Rivermen (1-4-0). The Rivermen are coming off another tough loss after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Prince George Spruce Kings, so the Eagles have an opportunity to take advantage. In addition to catching a Langley team on their heels, the Eagles will play at home for just the 2nd time this season, and will look to take advantage of the home crowd’s energy to propel them to a win.
The Eagles lineup has been depleted the past few games, with 5 roster players out of the lineup for the Eagles on last week’s Vancouver Island road trip. As they keep battling while depleted, this young team needs to dig deep and will themselves through this tough early stretch. The boys will remain in the lower mainland throughout the week, and today will be their first attempt at defending ‘The Nest’. You can check our social mediums for our full lineup later today.
Who To Watch Out For
The Eagles can’t let the Rivermen record fool them into thinking this’ll be an easy game. While the Rivermen have started the season with just 1 win, they’ve scored more goals and only given up a few more in 5 games. There’s still a fair bit of talent on this Langley team, and their lone victory over the Coquitlam Express showcased that. However, a few Eagles forwards started to find their game on the road trip, and will need to drive the bus for Surrey. Here are tonight’s players to watch for.
Langley Rivermen: Brendan Budy
The Rivermen’s player to watch is none other than Langley native, Brendan Budy. Budy is the Rivermen’s best player, and chose to stay in the BCHL to keep his NCAA scholarship instead of heading to the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. His 5 points in 5 games is nothing to sneeze at, but after finishing last year with 56 points in 49 games, the University of North Dakota commit will be relied upon to provide Langley’s offence.
Surrey Eagles: Holden Katzalay
The lanky forward from Vancouver, BC picked up his game despite the Eagles struggles on the road. The assistant captain had 2 goals and an assist to bump his season point total to 5. Holden’s stick handling is one of his strengths, and his ability to draw in defenders opens up room for his teammates. The Eagles are looking for someone to step up and be their go-to goal scorer, and Katzalay has all the necessary tools to take the reins, and will look to build on his goal total tonight.
3 Keys To The Game
The Eagles overall compete level hasn’t been in question during their recent struggles, but their consistency has been all over the place. This young team continues their evolution this afternoon, and will need to show improvement in certain aspects if they want to defend the South Surrey Arena. Here are tonight’s 3 keys to the game.
– Special Teams: A continuing theme for this team as they look to improve on their record is the special teams. The special teams has been a blackspot for this group. While the powerplay showed some life against the Cowichan Valley Capitals, the penalty kill completely failed them as they allowed 3 powerplay goals. Having a strong game on special teams gives the Eagles a strong chance against any opponent, including Langley tonight.
– Play the full 60 minutes: The Eagles have had 2 games in a row where they’ve played a great 40 minutes, but haven’t been able to turn those great 40 minutes into a complete game effort. To break out of this losing streak, the boys will need to show up from the start and carry their game all the way to the last buzzer.
– Come out strong: It connects to playing the full 60, but the Eagles can’t fall behind early like they have the past 3 games. They trailed early in both games last week on the island, and need to get out on the right foot to ease the pressure off themselves. If they can give themselves some breathing room and open up the Langley defence, the skill of this Eagles team will have a greater opportunity to put the game away early.
Summary
For the Eagles, they’ll need to play a full game of Eagles hockey to come away with their first win at home. The Rivermen will be a tough matchup, despite what the record indicates. It’s also the first of 3 straight games against Langley this week, as the Eagles will look to take an early stranglehold of the season series. A fun game will be on hand from the South Surrey Arena, and the timing for this Eagles team couldn’t be better.
For fans who are thinking about coming to the game, well you still can! Tickets will be on sale from the ticket booth starting at 3:00pm. Today’s puck drop will be at 4:00pm, and for the first time this season we’ll be hosting our Sunday Skate after the game. Kids can jump on the ice with the players and hang out, get their autographs, and talk to some of our players. If you can’t make it to the rink tonight, the broadcast will be live on HockeyTV and Mixlr, starting with pre-game coverage at 3:50pm!
