It’s Wednesday Night Midweek Madness from the Train Station as the Express and Eagles get set for their final clash of the regular season. This is the eighth time the Mainland rivals will square off and the Eagles have had Coquitlam’s number for a majority of the season. 6-1 Surrey is where things stand heading into tonight but every game except the 9-2 loss February 4th has been exceptionally entertaining hockey.
The importance of tough competition as the season rolls closer to its end cannot be understated. The coaching staff for the Express have highlighted its importance to the fullest extent because they believe this group has what it takes, they just need a bit more refinement. Surrey is second in the entire BCHL coming into tonight and will be seeking the win with conviction as two points would reclaim their spot at the pinnacle of the league.
Eagles hockey is one of quick precise puck movement and following their offensive systems to a T. They practice and play on Olympic sized ice down at the South Surrey Arena so conditioning and spacing have never been an issue for this squad. What will be interesting is how they adapt to the smaller rink at the Poirier. Coquitlam has shown they can attack the Eagles with speed even on Surrey’s home ice, and now this evening the reaction time will need to be that much quicker with less space to breath. If the Express can shut down the breakout the way they did to West K and Penticton these last few weekends, good things will happen.
Tonight there will be a few extra pieces of motivation on either side with Jacob Bonkowski playing against his former team once again and so will Evan Brown.
That name may be familiar to you as Brown joined the Express last season coming over from the USHL. The Little Silver, NJ product was a great offensive addition to the Express squad and played a smart game through and through. Unfortunately, you can only hold so many 20-year-olds on your roster, so he was moved to free up space for the Cole Melady acquisition. Brown was with Cranbrook and had 15 points across 25 games before being acquired by the Surrey Eagles. He’s a point per game player since his move back to the Lower Mainland with 2 goals and 7 assists in 9 games.
To the benefit of the Express coming into this game, Ajeet Gundarah has looked human lately. He has let in 13 goals over his last 4 appearances, of which one was only for a period of play. Cam Keith has three great goaltenders at his disposal to choose from tonight but if Gundarah gets the nod, the Express may be licking their chops to continue lighting the red lamp behind him.
It is Animal Night for the Express in partnership with Bosley’s so the main event will be a race for some special furry critters in attendance during the intermission down on the ice.
Be sure to grab your tickets and come on down to cheer on the Express and our race contestants at intermission or tune in for the broadcast on FloHockey.
– Ian Wilson
