Game Story

Surrey Eagles vs West Kelowna Warriors Pre Game Report

by Ryan Ho

Warring Out East

West Kelowna, BC – After a hard fought battle saw the Surrey Eagles (17-20-2-4) come out on the wrong end of a 2-1 decision against the Coquitlam Express, the boys travel to the Okanagan to take on the West Kelowna Warriors (10-25-5-2) who are currently in the midst of a 3 game winning streak. While the Eagles appear to be the better team on paper, these players can’t take this Warriors team lightly. The Warriors are playing with a renewed spirit after the trade deadline passed and don’t have any pressure on their shoulders this year.

The Eagles are turning back to Reece Klassen between the pipes tonight, as the 20 year old will make his 4th start in a row since being acquired on January 9th. Eagles look to be going with the same roster from Wednesday night, but you can check out the full roster on our social media channels later today.

Who To Watch Out For

While the Warriors haven’t had the greatest of seasons, they still boast quite a few impactful players in the top of their lineup who can score on any given night. Just like the Eagles, the Warriors have young players who have been growing in the B.C Hockey League, and are making strides during the end of the year. For tonight’s game, look for a local boy to wreak havoc against his hometown team, while an Eagles youngster looks to continue his upward trajectory.

Surrey Eagles: Gabe Schovanek

Gabe Schovanek has been one of the more dominant rookies on this Eagles team all year, and has continued to improve as the year has gone along. The Comox, BC native was moved to the top line near the beginning of December, and hasn’t relinquished the spot alongside Hudson Schandor and Cristophe Tellier since. On the season, Schovanek has 8 goals and 22 points in 34 games while improving his play away from the puck as well. Schovanek will look to continue his upward trajectory tonight.

West Kelowna Warriors: John Evans

The South Surrey, BC native has been one of the best players for the Warriors all year, despite being just 17 years old. Evans is an electric forward with game breaking ability in the offensive zone, and he made a fantastic play the last time these 2 teams met. For the season, Evans has 12 goals and 28 points in 42 games, and has become a staple on the Warriors top line.

3 Keys To The Game

The last time these two teams met, the Eagles were able to squeak out a 2-1 victory on the olympic sized ice inside the South Surrey Arena. The Eagles need to be prepared for another tough game against a team with nothing to lose on the year, which could set them up for failure if they think this game will be a walk in the park. Here are the 3 keys to the game.

  • Play Simple: The Eagles can’t be fooled by the Warriors record, West Kelowna can beat them if they start to get too cute with the puck. The Warriors are tenacious, and will battle to the final whistle while capitalizing on mistakes. The Eagles need to keep thing simple, and stick to their game-plan if they want to come out of the Okanagan with 2 points.
  • Special Teams: Always a factor for this team, but the powerplay was dormant on Wednesday night in their 2-1 loss to the Express. For tonight’s game, look for more shots with the man advantage with traffic in front as the Eagles look to improve on their 13th ranked powerplay.
  • Smarter Pinches: The Eagles defense loves to be aggressive and jump up into the play, which has helped them generate offense. However, they need to be smarter tonight as both of Coquitlam’s goals came on an odd man rush. Look for better decisions from the Eagles blue liners, with better coverage from the forwards as the Eagles look to make Klassen’s life easier in net.

Summary

While this game appears like an easy one on paper, there are NO easy games in the BCHL no matter who the boys play. The Eagles need to keep things simple, get their powerplay going, and make smarter decisions when being aggressive if they want to snap the Warriors winning streak. Look for tonight’s game to be a grind inside Royal LePage Place as the Eagles look to get back on track.

Can’t make it to the game tonight? You can catch the live broadcast on HockeyTV and Mixlr. The broadcast will start at 6:50pm, with the opening puck drop slated for 7:00pm from Royal LePage Place.