West Kelowna, BC – A massive six-point night from Cristophe Tellier and 14 points in total from their top line propelled the visiting Surrey Eagles to their third win in the past four games, a 7-3 thumping of the West Kelowna Warriors on Friday night at Royal LePage Place. The win moved Surrey into third place in the B.C. Hockey League’s Mainland Division.
The leap in the standings came about after the Prince George Spruce Kings, who were swept at home last weekend by Surrey, defeated the Langley Rivermen 4-2 up north on Friday night. A 2-8 record in October had Surrey buried in last place in the division, but the team has now gone 12-8-5 since righting the ship.
“It feels good right now but we understand Langley still has a game in hand on us and it’s just a one-point advantage,” said Eagles head coach Cam Keith after watching his team put together one of their most emphatic, complete-game victories this season. The win came over a team which although sitting 16th in the 17-team league came into the game riding a three-game win streak. “Every game is huge now, and as sweet as it feels right now, tomorrow it can be erased if we don’t win a hockey game,” Keith pointed out. “It feels good to be back in the situation where we’re competing for the third spot but we know there’s a lot of hard games ahead of us.”
Goaltender Reece Klassen, the 20-year-old who was acquired from the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League just prior to the BCHL’s Jan. 10 trade deadline with Surrey’s number one goalie Tommy Scarfone sidelined with a groin injury, picked up his third win in his fourth straight game between the pipes in an Eagles jersey. His only loss was a 2-1 setback to the league-leading Coquitlam Express on Wednesday night. His veteran expertise wasn’t a major factor in Friday night’s win, but as Keith noted, his presence has been huge for the youngest team in the league. “Having him just gives your entire team a boost. For the guys, it gives them the comfort level to try a few extra things that they normally wouldn’t be able to if they felt that a mistake could cost a goal against.”
After confirming that Scarfone is expected to return to action next weekend when Surrey plays three games in as many days, two of them at home, Keith added, “It’s the ideal situation for any team to have two number one goalies that can provide you a game where they can win it singlehandedly. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a Junior A team that had that combination, and it’s a pleasure to have. I think you have to have it in the playoffs when you play a lot of games in a short amount of time, so it’s important for us to have both goalies going and ready to take the ball. Any time you have a partnership like this they kind of feed off each other and they are two kids that I think will work well together as well.”
Speaking of working well together, Tellier and linemates captain Hudson Schandor and rookie Gabe Schovanek were “in sync all night long,” said Keith. “I think every one of them touched the puck on every goal they scored. It was never an individual effort that created a goal, it was just one beautiful tic-tac-toe after another. Every one of them was distributing the puck and that’s why they had so success tonight.”
Tellier, who had 10-20-30 in 53 games last season as a rookie with the Wenatchee Wild, had a goal and five assists to give him 51 points in 44 games this season. Schovanek had a goal and four assists to give him 27 points in 35 games, and Schandor had a goal and two assists on a night to give him 44 points in as many games, on a night when Surrey got goals from seven different players.
As much as Keith appreciated Tellier’s career night, which saw him leap into fifth place in the BCHL scoring race, he was just as impressed with Schovanek’s own BCHL-best performance. Inserted onto the top line after Holden Katzalay, who was leading the team in scoring when he jumped up and joined the WHL’s Vancouver Giants in late November, Schovanek has cemented his spot alongside the two BCHL veterans.
“He’s a kid who took an opportunity and ran with it,” said Keith. “He’s a perfect complement to those two because he understands that he is probably, skill wise, the weaker one of the three, so when he gets the puck he’s looking to distribute it. He’s not looking to hold on to pucks too long, and he’s making smart plays that often create space for the other two. He’s not afraid to play in front of the net either where he’s getting a lot of his goals as well. He’s getting better every game we see him play. Katzalay getting called up by Vancouver was the best thing that could have happened to Gabe.”
The game was Surrey’s fourth of five straight away from home, and they conclude the road swing Saturday night against Tellier’s former teammates in Wenatchee. The Wild sit fifth in the Interior Division but are just three points behind the third-place Vernon Vipers, and will take to their home ice for the second straight night with something to prove after being blanked 4-0 by the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Friday night.
