Three games in four days shall be weary on the most conditioned of players, no matter the final destination. For the Coquitlam Express, they will likely be cursing the Hockey gods for scheduling South Surrey Arena as the terminus of this weekend’s fanfare. The Olympic sized ice sheet doesn’t leave a ton of room for easy changes or getting by with coasting. Today is a test for Coquitlam both in their determination and execution while fatigued.
The Eagles and Express are slated to meet for the sixth time this season and with the series at 4-1 Surrey, this team has provided quite the puzzle for Coquitlam to solve. They came close on February 17th as the Eagles escaped the Poirier with a 3-2 win in the first game back since a huge trade deadline swap between today’s combatants. The lone successful venture against Surrey was the Teddy Bear Toss Night back in December where the Express put up eight goals in a wild contest. The good news for Coquitlam is, if you are looking to outscore the Eagles, Aidan Fischer might still be out of the lineup due to injury. Fischer has been sensational for Surrey and provided so much stability to a crease that has been ravaged with injuries since the 2024-2025 season began. That isn’t to say that Maddox Osaka or Nathan Claydon are any slouches in their own right. Osaka had a 39-save performance Friday Night in an overtime loss to the Spruce Kings while Claydon made his BCHL debut in that aforementioned 3-2 victory over Coquitlam in February.
Emotions will run high again this afternoon as former teammates turned adversaries will square off. Liam Loughery noted on the broadcast during his post game interview last night how much it means to see Leo Eperjesi on the other side. Sometimes D-partners on the ice, and often roommates on roadtrips, you build bonds with teammates in Junior Hockey that don’t just disappear when they have to don another jersey. With the big Slovakian known to join the rush from time-to-time, perhaps we will see some calamitous collisions when Loughs and Leo come together. It will also be the first time back at South Surrey Arena for Cam Russo and Nolan Flynn. The former Eagles have spoken fondly of their time in the Nest and when the lights come up, they will be ready to go. Both Russo and Flynn are guys that can create well with their speed so having both the Olympic-sized ice, and the familiarity with it, could be a recipe for great contributions today.
Defend the transition game. That is the M.O today for Coquitlam as the Eagles benefited from multiple odd-man-rush goals the last time these sides met in South Surrey. That playstyle hasn’t changed and Surrey knows that the Express are playing their third game this weekend. Expect the home side to be in attack mode from the opening faceoff.
If you can’t make it down to the Nest then be sure to join us for the road broadcast on FloHockey! Pregame show is set for around 2:45.
FLOHOCKEY BROADCAST (Select “Away” Stream)
– Ian Wilson
