Game Story

Surrey Eagles vs West Kelowna Warriors Pre Game Report

by Ryan Ho

Warring With The Warriors

Surrey, BC – The Surrey Eagles (8-14-1-3) wrap up their 6 game home-stand tonight with a game against the West Kelowna Warriors (4-16-3-2). After the Eagles dropped the ball on Sunday night against the Merritt Centennials, look for this young team to be firing on all cylinders tonight to try and make up some ground in the Mainland Division standings. The Eagles are also looking to win their first game in 4 attempts (0-1-2 in their past 3).

Look for Thomas Scarfone to get the start in goal tonight after getting the night off on Sunday. As for the Eagles skaters, Hassan Akl will look to make his debut for the Eagles after being acquired in the trade last week. You can check the full roster on our social media channels later today.

Who To Watch Out For

It’s been a tough season for the Warriors, who have been without the services of some of their top players for the majority of the year. However, after the Eagles gave up 5 third period goals and lost the game versus another team which had been struggling throughout the season, the Eagles can’t let up at all. Look for 2 speedy forwards to make an impact in this game, with one being the Warriors leading scorer, the other looking to be a much needed boost to the Eagles lineup.

Surrey Eagles: Hassan Akl

The 18 year old Chestermere, Alberta native has been out of the lineup for the past few games, but will look to finally make his Eagles debut tonight. Akl was a top scorer in the Alberta Junior Hockey League this season, putting up a solid 24 points in 26 games split between the Calgary Canucks and the Drumheller Dragons. For an Eagles team searching for some consistent secondary scoring, Akl will look to answer the call and jumpstart one of the middle 6 lines in the lineup to help accomplish that task.

West Kelowna Warriors: Brandon Dent

A young forward who has carried the load on offence this year for the Warriors, Dent has been a pleasant surprise for them this season. After netting just 5 goals in 44 games last year, the 18 year old has taken a huge step this season with 11 goals and 22 points in 25 games in the absence of some of the Warriors biggest weapons. The Prince George native will look to continue his ascension and lead the Warriors to a much needed win against the Eagles tonight.

3 Keys To The Game

After a lacklustre effort against a lowly Centennials team, the Eagles NEED to understand they’ll have to put forward a full 60 minute effort against whichever team they face off against. Tonight, it’s a Warriors team with just 4 wins on the season, but that doesn’t mean this game will be easy. With that, here’s the 3 keys to tonight’s game.

  • Play the full 60 minutes: Alluded too in the opening paragraph of the section, but the Eagles need to play the full 60 minutes and avoid mental lapses tonight. With the season almost halfway over, the lack of B.C Hockey League experience is almost null and void. The boys need to go out, play their game, and take it to the Warriors every chance they get.
  • Tighten up defensively: Ties into the point above, but the Eagles need to be better defensively and not give their opponents a ton of scoring chances. One of the bigger problems in the game against Merritt looked to be the team trying too hard to run up the score instead of closing out the game like they have against better teams in the standings. The Eagles need to close out every team they play, and the results will come.
  • Secondary scoring: The top line for the Eagles has been one of the best lines in the entire BCHL, but for this team to truly take that next step and become a contender, the rest of the lineup needs to start scoring with a little bit more consistency. Akl will look to help just that, but there’s a lot of talent lower in the lineup that needs to start producing with some consistency. Once they get going, matching up with the Eagles offence will be a nightmare for everyone, not just the Warriors (if they can get it started tonight).

Summary

It’s a rare Wednesday night game for the Eagles tonight as they try to end their 6 game home-stand with a 2-1-3 record (currently 1-1-3). To do that, the boys will need to take it to a Warriors team which has struggled throughout the year and treat them like a top tier team. If the boys let up, they’ll be in for a night like Sunday, but if they play their game for the whole 60 minutes, with good defense and some secondary scoring then look for the Eagles to finish off their home-stand successfully.

Tickets are still available for tonight’s game! You can walk up to the box office starting at 6:30pm to buy your tickets, or visit our single game tickets page and start the preorder process. Can’t make the game tonight? No worries. You can catch the broadcast on HockeyTV and Mixlr tonight, starting at 7:20pm. Puck drop for tonight’s game will be 7:30pm.