Game Story

Surrey Eagles vs Merritt Centennials Pre-Game Report

by Ryan Ho

SEMI Night

Surrey, BC – As another special event game pops up on the calendar, the Surrey Eagles (8-13-1-3) will look for 2 points against the visiting Merritt Centennials (5-15-1-0). The Eagles will play their 5th game of a 6 game homestead, and have points in each of the previous 4 (1-0-3). Finally, it’s SEMI Night at the South Surrey Arena! The Eagles are hosting their communities minor hockey program, with another special jersey set, and proceeds from tonight’s game being given to the Never Too Late initiative.

While Thomas Scarfone has been hot of late, the starting goaltender for tonight’s game is still up in the air with Scarfone possibly in line for a breather after making 43 saves on Friday night. As for the roster up front, you’ll just have to stay tuned to our social media channels for the full update later today.

Who To Watch Out For

On a night where the Eagles are celebrating a local minor hockey community, the boys will look for their 3rd win of the month, and 2nd on this 6 game homestead against a team which has undergone a ton of in season change. Merritt has replaced their head coach, and just recently made a trade which saw them send out their 2nd leading scorer. Their new acquisition will look to make his presence felt, while a local boy will look to shine in front of a large home crowd. Here are tonight’s players to watch out for.

Surrey Eagles: Buddy Johnson

The local semi minor product, Buddy Johnson has been a serviceable piece for Cam Keith and the Eagles coaching staff throughout the season. While the White Rock native’s season totals aren’t eye popping, with 4 goals and 6 points on the season, his defensive play has been strong as he starts to find open space with more frequency. He’s found a home on a line alongside the dynamic duo of Gabe Schovanek and Sean Ramsay, and will look to find some more success at home tonight.

Merritt Centennials: Christian Buono

Christian Buono will play his first game with his new team tonight after being acquired in the trade which sent Brett Roloson to the Powell River Kings. Buono, who was on the top line with the Kings through his first 21 games played this season, has just 1 goal, but 13 assists for 14 points. Buono’s in his 2nd full season in the BCHL, and will look to showcase his playmaking ability and set up some goals for his new teammates on the olympic sized ice here at ‘The Nest’.

3 Keys To The Game

The Eagles are coming into today’s game looking to grab a full 2 points, instead of the single contribution to the season standings which they’ve earned in their past 2 games. However, they can’t underestimate a team with a record worse than theirs. Merritt has a new head coach, and has been playing much better hockey lately after a horrendous start to their B.C Hockey League campaign. With that, here’s tonight’s 3 keys to the game.

  • Don’t underestimate Merritt: The biggest key to this game is to make sure the Eagles treat this game like every other game, and not think of it as an easy stat pad. The minute the Eagles start to get too fancy and stop playing their game is the minute the Centennials will capitalize on this young Eagles team. The boys need to put their heads down and put in the work if they want to come out on top.
  • Start strong: If the Eagles can come out of the gates and set the tone, and possibly even open the scoring, they might be able to put a struggling Merritt team down early. It’s tough to be on teams which lose with an increased frequency, and if the Eagles can make it seem like Merritt is in for a long night while playing the right way, they might be able to take a stranglehold of the game.
  • Feed off the crowd: The Eagles will be in front of another large crowd today, as the community will come out in droves on a special night supporting a local minor hockey organization. As such, the boys will have a bunch of fans trying to boost them up throughout the game. If they can take the energy, and not get overwhelmed by it, they’ll have a bit of an extra jump to try and bring home 2 points.

Summary

The Eagles are looking for another win to continue making ground in a tough Mainland Division. They get an opportunity to pick up a win in front of another large Sunday crowd tonight at ‘The Nest’, but it’s up to them to take advantage. If they can keep up their high level of play, start out strong, and feed off the energy in the building then all bodes well for the boys tonight.

It’s our first annual SEMI Night, and fundraising efforts will support SEMI Minor Hockey and the Never Too Late Initiative. The Eagles will wear special SEMI-themed jerseys to be auctioned off post-game, and there’s a Sunday Skate after the game. Doors open at 3:00pm, and puck drop will be 4:00pm. If you can’t make it to the rink today, the broadcast will go live on HockeyTV and Mixlr starting at 3:50pm.