Surrey Eagles vs Vernon Vipers Pre Game Report: Jersey Giveaway Night

Surrey, BC – A night after the Surrey Eagles (7-13-0-1) won in one of the most dramatic ways possible, the boys will look to keep their momentum going against the surging Vernon Vipers (11-7-1-0). While the game has some significance on the ice as the boys will look to string together their 2nd win streak of the season, it’s also the first special event at ‘The Nest’ during this 2019-20 B.C Hockey League campaign. Tonight is the Telus Youth Jersey Giveaway night, and the extra energy might play a factor tonight.

The Eagles are turning back to Thomas Scarfone tonight, after his great game last night to help the Eagles win their first game in Chilliwack in 17 tries. As for the skaters up front, the full roster will be posted on our social media channels later today.

Who To Watch Out For

The Eagles know they’ll need to keep playing the way they have to come out with more results, but the boys have been stepping it up lately. They’ll come into tonight’s game having scored 12 goals in their last 3 home games, and will look to continue the offence going in front of their home fans tonight. Vernon is no slouch however, and they’ve only given up 50 goals in 19 games this season. Here are tonight’s key players to watch.

Surrey Eagles: Holden Katzalay

The Eagles leading scorer has been great all season, but his last 3 games at home have been something else. Katzalay has 5 goals and 9 points in the Eagles last 3 home games. The lanky 6’3 forward had 30 points in 52 games last season, and is well on his way to crushing that total this year if he can continue his great play. Look for him to continue to pile up the points and lead the Eagles against the Vipers tonight.

Vernon Vipers: Matt Kowalski

The Vernon, BC native who’s now in his 5th season in the BCHL, is one of the 2 players on their roster with more than 10 points on the season. His 7 goals is 2nd on the team, and his point total of 17 leads the group. While the Vipers are a defense oriented group, look for Kowalski to be the guy providing the spark Vernon needs to try and spoil’s Surrey’s special night.

3 Keys To The Game

The Eagles should be coming into this game with a boatload of confidence, especially with the overall body of work they’ve shown in the past 2 games this weekend, and 4 overall. They’re starting to look like the group head coach Cam Keith envisioned when he put this roster together, but there’s still work to be done as the team tries to turn the page. Tonight is the next step, and here are tonight’s 3 keys to the game.

  • Discipline/Penalty Killing: The boys took a step in the right direction last night for the most part, but an early 5 on 3 sapped their momentum and Chilliwack was able to take the lead on an early powerplay goal. The Vipers don’t have the offensive punch Chilliwack does, so being able to keep the Vipers away from any man advantage situations will be vital tonight.
  • Don’t get overconfident: One thing the boys need to do is keep their heads on straight, and not let the win from last night sap their effort against the Vipers tonight. This has been an unfortunate trend this team has endured throughout the season, and they need to go full out, every night, if they want to be successful.
  • Feed off the fans: It’s going to be a loud building tonight at the South Surrey Arena, as the Eagles celebrate their first special event of the season. As such, the boys will play in front of one of the largest crowds of the season. This is a great chance for the boys to feed off the energy and gain a little boost throughout the game. Caution is required however, as the boys can’t let it get to their heads and try and do too much. Stick to your game, and the fans will leave happy.

Summary

The Eagles come into this game on the high of a dramatic win, and looking like a team teams should fear any time they’re forced to visit ‘The Nest’. However, that doesn’t mean teams will lie down, and the Vipers will look to down the soaring Eagles on their jersey giveaway night. The Eagles will need to remain disciplined, stick within their game, and feed off the energy of the crowd in order to propel themselves to their 2nd win streak of the season.


Tonight’s Telus Jersey Giveaway Night will see the first 250 youth head home with a brand new Surrey Eagles jersey! The doors open up at 3:00pm, and the game will start at 4:00pm from the South Surrey Arena. If you can’t make it to the game tonight, the broadcast will go live on Mixlr and HockeyTV starting at 3:50pm.