Surrey Eagles vs Langley Rivermen Pre Game Report

Season Finale

Surrey,  BC – The Surrey Eagles (27-23-7) wrap up their 2019-20 B.C Hockey League regular season tonight with one last home game against their cross-town rivals, the Langley Rivermen (22-30-2-1-1). While the Eagles and Rivermen already play their best whenever they go against each other, there’s even more incentive to win this game for both sides.  With an Eagles win tonight, Surrey would clinch 2nd place in the BCHL’s Mainland Division and home ice advantage against the Chilliwack Chiefs in the 1st round of the Fred Page Cup Playoffs. So while Surrey will look to control their destiny, Langley will look to play the role of spoiler against their division rivals.

Tommy Scarfone was terrific in the win on Wednesday over Coquitlam, and Reece Klassen was terrific against the Chilliwack Chiefs the game before on Family Day. Cam Keith will have his work cut out for him as he looks to name a starter. As for the roster, Jimmy Darby, Adamo Santia, and Kenny Riddett are all questionable as the team looks to make sure they’re 100% before playoffs. For the full roster update, check out our social media channels later today.

Who To Watch Out For

The Eagles are one of the hottest teams in the BCHL heading into the playoffs, evidence by their 6-2 record in the month of February. It’s why they’re in control of where they’ll start their 1st round playoff series against Chilliwack. As tonight’s game rolls around, the player to watch for on the home team will be their leading scorer, while Langley’s leading scorer is questionable for tonight’s game.

Surrey Eagles: Cristophe Tellier

It’s been an outstanding season for the Sherbrooke, Quebec native. Despite being snubbed as a nominee for the most valuable player from the Mainland Division, the Quinnipiac commit has 27 goals and 69 points in 57 games. For his BCHL career, Tellier sits at 99 points heading into what could be his final regular season game in the league. Tellier will look to hit the century mark milestone and help his team clinch 2nd place with a win.

Langley Rivermen: Brendan Budy (Questionable)

The player to watch for on the Rivermen may not be in the lineup tonight as he’s dealt with an upper body injury over the past few games. However, if he’s in the lineup he’s no doubt their best forward. The 19 year old North Dakota commit has 19 goals and 49 points in 50 games for the Rivermen, and would love to play spoiler against the teams division rival. For the season series, Budy has 3 goals, 5 points and a shootout winner in the 7 previous games.

3 Keys To The Game

Every game these 2 teams have played were back and forth affairs in which each team struggled to assert their style of play. However, the last time the Rivermen played the Eagles, Reece Klassen wasn’t on the team, and the Eagles were still battling with Langley for 3rd in the division. While the Eagles have soared, the Rivermen have struggled in the buildup to the playoffs. No doubt tonight will see the best from both teams, and if the Eagles wanna clinch home ice in round 1, they’ll need to follow these 3 keys to the game.

  • Keep Doing What You’re Doing: The Eagles have found success by keeping things simple and playing lock down defense. If they want to clinch, they just gotta keep doing those same things against another big and physical team.
  • Utilize Your Skill: In the prior 7 meetings, the big key for the Eagles was to utilize the skill this team possesses to keep the puck away from Langley. The Rivermen are big, strong, and are great at grinding teams down in the dirty areas, but if the Eagles can work the puck around quickly and maintain a strong cycle, they’ll find the open ice in prime scoring situations.
  • Goaltending: At this point it doesn’t matter who’s in the net for the Eagles. Whether it’s Klassen or Scarfone, either one of them has the potential to steal the game away from their opponent. The spectacular has become routine with them, and they’ll look to steal one more game to help the Eagles clinch 2nd, whoever gets the nod tonight.

Summary

It’s the biggest game of the season for the Eagles, and fittingly it’s their last regular season game before the playoffs. The Eagles will try to finish off the season on a 6 game win streak and clinch home ice for round 1. The Rivermen will do whatever they can to spoil the party for the team they battled so long for 3rd in the division with earlier in the season. Either way, it’s going to be another incredible night of hockey inside ‘The Nest’.


Tickets are still available for tonight’s game! You can walk up to the box office starting at 6:00pm 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 6:50pm. Puck drop for tonight’s game will be 7:00pm.