December Showdown

Langley, BC – The red hot Surrey Eagles (13-16-2-3), who’ve won 4 of their last 5 games will undertake their biggest game of the season to date tonight, as they’ll head to Langley to face off against the Langley Rivermen (16-15-0-1-1). The season series has been tightly contested all throughout, but the Rivermen have won 3 of the 5 meetings between the 2 teams. The Eagles will look to change that and make up ground on the 3rd place team in the B.C Hockey League’s Mainland Division.

In a game of this magnitude, look for Tommy Scarfone to get the start and continue his blazing hot run which started in November. Kieran O’Hearn won’t be in the lineup tonight as he serves the first of his 2 game suspension after his major penalty in Victoria, so Jordan Hendry will look to make his Surrey Eagles debut after being acquired from the Powell River Kings. For the full roster, check our social media channels later today.

Who To Watch Out For

As Christmas rolls around, there’s a ton at stake for both of these teams heading into the break. The Rivermen have a game in hand, and are 3 points up on the Eagles but Surrey’s been playing some of their best hockey during their 8 straight games away from home. The Eagles come into tonight’s game playing their final game before they head back to the South Surrey Arena, and have wins in Vernon, Trail, and Nanaimo to boost their confidence. With tonight’s important game, a new Eagle will look to make his mark, while the Rivermen’s top scorer will look to continue his torrid pace against a division foe. Here are tonight’s key players to watch.

Surrey Eagles: Jordan Hendry

The South Surrey native waited a road trip, but he’ll finally make his debut for his hometown team. There’s no bigger game to do it for Hendry, but the puck moving defenseman will look to show Eagles fans why Cam Keith went out and got him. Hendry has played in 24 games this season, split between the Kings and the Trail Smoke Eaters, and has 2 assists and 8 penalty minutes.

Langley Rivermen: Brendan Budy

After being selected to go play in the World Junior A Hockey Championships for Canada West, Budy returns to the Rivermen looking to continue his great play through this season. In 30 games, the North Dakota commit has 15 goals and 39 points to lead his team in scoring, and sit tied for 5th overall in the BCHL. Budy scored the shootout winner the last times these teams met, but only has 2 goals and 3 points in 5 games. The Eagles can’t let up on covering him, because he’s a talented scorer who will make them pay if he finds an opening.

3 Keys To The Game

In a game with such magnitude behind it, there’s an expectation both teams will come in looking to make a statement before the year flips to 2020. There aren’t a lot of games left between these 2 teams, so these points are critical in helping determine where the Eagles will finish in the standings, and who they might play in the 1st round of the BCHL playoffs come spring. The Eagles have a win in Langley, and they’ll need to look for that same formula again tonight. Here are tonight’s 3 keys to the game.

Play your game: A massive key between these 2 teams every time they meet, will be the Eagles making sure they play their own game and not get bullied around by the Rivermen. Langley is a physical team, with a lot of toughness and some solid skill up front, and the Eagles need to be ready for a fight. If the boys are ready to play hard when they need to, but use their speed and skill to their advantage, they’ll have a much better chance than the last time they were inside the George Preston Rec Centre.
Special Teams: With Langley being so tough to play, special teams become a bigger factor in a tight divisional game. The Eagles powerplay went a modest 2 for 13 on the Vancouver Island road trip, and gave up a few powerplay goals of their own as well. They’ll need to be better tonight in such an important game.
Tommy Scarfone: Does this shock anyone? If it does, you need to go back and look at how good he’s been recently. 7-1-2-2 since the start of November, and has stolen more than a few points for the Eagles during their hot streak. #InTommyWeTrust

Summary

This’ll be one of the most entertaining games on the schedule tonight, with so much on the line this early in the season. A win tonight would see the Eagles climb to just 1 point behind the Rivermen as the team nears the Christmas break. The boys will need to stick to their own gameplay, improve their special teams play, and continue to get stellar goaltending from Scarfone in order to come out of Langley with the win.

You can catch the live broadcast on HockeyTV and Mixlr. The broadcast will start at 7:05pm, with the opening puck drop slated for 7:15pm from George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley, BC.