Coquitlam are back at the Poirier and looking to School their opponents in the Surrey Eagles. After the tough loss on Saturday in Alberni Valley, the home side needs a big bounce back. What better way to achieve that than in front of a sold out crowd. The annual School Day Game is one that the entire Express organization circles on their calendar because there are few contests that can rival its energy. Thousands of kids from Lower Mainland Schools are set to invade the Train Station and they cheer for everything. Big hits, big goals, doesn’t matter which side is bringing the action, the kids will be screaming their hearts out. That’s the kind of energy that you need to play for and play through. The farther you go in a potential postseason run, the bigger the crowds and the bigger the noise one has to battle with.
The Surrey Eagles currently sit seventh in the Coastal Conference heading into Wednesday. The defending Fred Page Cup Champions have not had the start to the season one would have figured. They lost their Head Coach and General Manager, Cam Keith, in the offseason and the roster turnover was immense. Former Eagle and Stanley Cup Champion Scott Gomez stepped up to fill Keith’s shoes after one season alongside him as an Assistant Coach. Any time you have a front office change that large, there will be some growing pains and this Eagles side has still been searching to build its identity. Perhaps the biggest shortcoming on the ice has been their powerplay. It currently sits at 11%, which is the second worst conversion rate in the BCHL. Five-on-five they haven’t been exceptional offensively either being in the bottom three for goals scored in the Coastal Conference. Clearly that isn’t always a huge problem as in the case of Alberni Valley, who have scored even less than Surrey, they sit in fourth place points wise. The Eagles defence hasn’t quite found their footing this BCHL campaign although they have been getting production from their Captain. Jackson Anderson, the former Aberdeen Wing, is nearly on a point per game pace with three goals and eight assists to his name. He’ll be a key target for the Express forecheck to attack and slow down. On the front end, Brady Kudrick has been good with seven goals contributed and Brandon Gill has manufactured six. Gill has a BCHL Stars of the Week nod under his belt after a fantastic pair of outings at the Showcase earlier this month.
Coquitlam need to control the pace of this game. One thing you can count on from the Surrey Eagles is their ability to get out and fly in transition. South Surrey Arena is an Olympic-sized sheet of ice so their conditioning has to be good to get to all those extra areas of the rink. On Saturday, the Express got caught in multiple track meets where the Bulldogs generated their most dangerous chances in transition. Still recovering from an illness that went through the locker room last week, the stamina may be a few steps slower than normal. Even more reason to make sure that the breakout is calm, cool and collected. The smaller confines of the Poirier are perfect for the smothering type of defensive schemes Jeff Wagner and company like to draw up. If the Express can ground the Eagles, they will provide little opportunity for that struggling offence to ignite. On their own end, they should take advantage of the struggles Surrey have seen with their defence and goaltending. Seven goals last Friday against Nanaimo was great, but it was a necessity because they gave up four in the first period. Coquitlam haven’t had a game where the offence and defence excelled at the same time since their 6-2 victory over Prince George a month ago.
This one is SOLD OUT! So if you haven’t already got your tickets, then never fear, the FloHockey Broadcast is your way to take in all the action. Tune in around 11:45AM PST.
– Ian Wilson
