The Trilogy

Tonight, the Surrey Eagles (3-4-0) and the Langley Rivermen (2-5-0) get set to do battle for the 2nd straight night, and 3rd time in 6 days. After a wild night from ‘The Nest’, these teams will play the finale of their mini 3 game series from the George Preston Arena in Langley, BC. This game will be a huge test for both teams after 6 players apiece didn’t get to play until the final horn. The Eagles need to avoid the rough stuff and stick to their game if they want to take the 3rd game tonight.

The wild nature of the game last night led to a couple of changes throughout. For the Eagles, it’ll be imperative that their top producers produce with a lot of uncertainty surrounding what the lineup could look like tonight. For the full lineup for tonight’s game, check back on all of our social media channels a couple hours before puck drop.

Who To Watch Out For

The Eagles and Rivermen don’t like each other, and there’s no question about that after a game which saw over 150 minutes in penalties handed out. However, for Eagles fans, they need someone to step up and lead this team offensively. For the Rivermen, a smooth skating defenseman caused all the rage against Surrey, and was key in helping them shut out the birds of prey in the nest last night. Here are tonight’s players to watch out for.

Surrey Eagles: Carter King

The Calgary, AB native is one of the smartest players on this Eagles team, and the Eagles need someone to make the right plays in all situations to help lead them to a win. King has started the year off strong, with 4 points in 7 games to go along with a strong two way game. While his play isn’t flashy, he’s always effective in finding open space, making the right read, or getting in front of the net. Look for Carter to have himself a game tonight to help ease the offensive load.

Langley Rivermen: Jake Livingstone

The 20 year old defenseman from Creston, BC has been a force on the blueline for the Rivermen to start the year. With 7 assists in 6 games, he’s tied for the lead in Langley scoring, and has 5 of his assists on the powerplay. With an incredible ability to wait for a passing lane to open up, and the smarts to control the blueline on the powerplay or at even strength, he’ll look to set up his forwards with easy tap-ins or one time opportunities while he continues his defensive dominance in an attempt to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard for a 2nd consecutive game.

3 Keys To The Game

The Eagles got roughed around and lost their game last night in the 3-0 loss, but tonight’s a new night to make something happen. Langley’s physicality put the Eagles in a rut early, and Braedon Fleming shut the door on them late to propel the Rivermen. For the Eagles tonight, they’ll need to work on some of the same things they’ve needed to work on throughout the entirety of the year. With that, here are tonight’s 3 keys to the game.

– Start off strong: The Eagles need to find a way to get the first goal in this game. They have trailed in 6 of the first 7 games to start the year, and that’s not going to get the job done as the season progresses. The boys need to come out with some jump, and not allow the Rivermen to skate all over them.

– Stay composed: The Eagles let the Rivermen bully them out of their game last night, and they weren’t able to score a goal. It’s imperative the Eagles don’t allow Langley to get into their heads physically for the 2nd straight night. If this young team took last nights game in stride and has learned how to face adversity like that, look for them to keep their heads down and keep up their energy as the Eagles look for a little revenge of their own in Langley tonight.

– Don’t let bad calls get in your head: Ties into the point above, but it’s not just the Rivermen who the Eagles need to stop caring about. The boys can’t let bad calls from the officials dictate their mood and the rest of the game. Last night’s game was a fiesta, but the Eagles had their chances to score and didn’t capitalize. Tonight, if this game does get out of hand, the best revenge should be to score a ton of goals in Langley’s rink, not getting into brawls and arguments.

Summary

The Eagles and Rivermen’s game tonight is a complete wildcard as to how it’ll turn out. Both these mainland division rivals DO NOT like each other. Will the game get out of hand again and be a physical brouhaha, or will the physicality tone down and these teams offences get the chance to shine. Either way, it’s going to be a tough game for the Eagles; but if they can score first, and remain composed throughout all situations they’ll put themselves in a better position to come away with 2 points.

If you can’t come to the game in Langley tonight, no worries. The broadcast will go live at 7:05pm on HockeyTV and Mixlr. Puck drop from the George Preston Arena is 7:15pm.