Easter Jitters

Burnaby, B.C. – On a beautiful Easter Sunday matinee game inside the Scotiabarn, the Surrey Eagles looked for their 2nd win of the 2021 Pod Season. What they found however was a hot goaltender and an opportunistic Powell River Kings squad who scored 4 unanswered through 40 minutes en route to a 5-2 win over the Eagles.

“As a group, we didn’t have the right mindset to find our game early.” Stated Eagles head coach Cam Keith after his team looked out of sorts early in the game. Powell River capitalized just a 1:33 into the game when Josh Kagan sniped his 4th goal of the pod season past Eagles starter Max Prazma, and the Kings never looked back. Ben Raymond followed with his 1st of the season, and Branden Toye scored his first two BCHL goals in the 2nd period to catapult the Kings to a 4-0 lead through 40 minutes. Tio D’Addario and Tyson McLean would each score their first career BCHL goals in the 3rd to make a game of it, but Kagan added an empty netter to seal the deal.

While Surrey carried play throughout the game, they weren’t able to generate enough high-quality scoring chances to break through Kings starter Thomas Wardle. When asked about what he’d like to see improve moving forward, Cam quickly pointed out his team’s need to focus on the process. “Our focus needs to shift to the process and not on the result. Play a simple game early and build confidence in smart decision making.”

In the end, this game was a great reminder for the Eagles to remember how competitive this Coquitlam pod will be against the Kings and the Coquitlam Express. A statement Cam echoed in his post-game comments. “The pod is very competitive, and we will have to play our best hockey to be successful.”

The Eagles will look to do just that on Wednesday, April 7th when they will get their chance for revenge against the Kings. Puck drop inside the Scotiabarn is scheduled for 7:30 pm. You can watch the broadcast live on BCHL TV (Powered by HockeyTV), and listen on mixlr.com/eaglesbchl.