Surrey’s Strong Start Propels Them To 4-1 Win Over Coquitlam

Coquitlam, B.C. – The Surrey Eagles (6-8-0) looked to get back on track this weekend following a tough couple of games at home last weekend. After having to reschedule a game due to BC’s severe weather conditions, the Eagles turned in one of their most complete games of the season in a 4-1 win over the Coquitlam Express (5-9-2) inside the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex.

The Eagles took the lead just 1:27 into the 1st period and never relinquished it throughout the game. Grayden Slipec got the Eagles on the board with a deft deflection past Adam Manji, and the Eagles never look back. Jacob Slipec scored 2 goals in the game, while Jacob Bonkowski added another and Max Prazma made 35 saves in the victory.

While the Eagles special teams didn’t help them in the win, it didn’t matter with how well they played at even strength. Surrey pushed play and didn’t let Coquitlam fight their way back into the contest en route to their 6th win of the season. Most of Coquitlam’s 36 shots were from low danger areas, and Prazma was great when the Express looked dangerous late in the 3rd period.

The big line in the game tonight was the Slipec brothers with Ante Zlomislic, as they scored 3 goals in the game and had 4 points combined. When asked about the line and how they played, Cam talked about what they were able to bring as a group and as individual players. “Jacob always brings 100% effort, and we’ve only seen a fraction of what Grayden’s true potential is. Ante is a kid we haven’t given a fair shake as far as his ice time, and he used the opportunity to the best of his advantage and they all had a great game tonight.”

For Eagles Head Coach Cam Keith, he was happy with the effort his team put forward in a game they led for over 58:30 of 60 minutes. “It was a better, more well-rounded game. It was a good effort from the 1st minute to the 60th minute. I don’t think we deterred from our gameplay tonight; a lot of shots from up top with traffic, and guys working in the hard areas contributed to our success tonight.”

In one of the better games this season, the Eagles defense looked great and allowed Surrey’s forwards to carry play in the game. When asked about how well his team played defensively, Cam was quick to heap praise on his blue liners. “I thought our defense did a great job of staying within the dots and keeping them to the outside. When they maintained puck control, we forced a lot battles in the defensive zone and we kept them pinned in corners. Our defense also blocked a lot of point shots and made smart plays out of the defensive zone which helped us play less in our own end.”

The Eagles will look to build on this win when the Cowichan Valley Capitals come to town on Sunday. Tickets for the game are available online, and puck drop is slated for 4:00pm. If you can’t make it to the South Surrey Arena, you can watch the broadcast live on BCHL TV (Powered by HockeyTV) and on mixlr.com/eaglesbchl.