KINGS WELCOME THE EAGLES

                                                

 25-14-1-2                           31-6-3-2  

LAST MEETING: December 10th, South Surrey Arena- Kings 3 @ Ealges 1

Klay Kachur scored his first goal of the season in the first period and Justin DaSilva and Teagan Waugh scored power-play goals 58 seconds apart in the victory. The Kings also received solid goaltending from Michael Garteig who stopped 21 shots in the win. Garteig was especially strong in the first two periods stopping all 15 shots.

LAST GAME

Surrey:  January 8th Vees 5 @ Eagles 1

After a scoreless first period, the Eagles scored the opening goal of the game early in the second period. However it was the Vees who went on to score five straight goals, including three straight power-play goals. The Vees finished three for seven on the power-play.

Powell River: January 7th Express 2 @ Kings 5

The Kings battled themselves and a hot goaltender for two periods before skating away with two points. Powell River put 14 shots on goal in the first and 17 in the second period however they only had a 3-2  lead to show for it. Carter Shinkaruk put the game away early in the third period with his seventh.

 TEAM PULSE

The Eagles come into tonight's game riding a two game slump after back to back losses to Penticton. The Vees out scored the Eagles 9-4 in the two meetings. The special teams of late have been a source of trouble for the Eagles.

Penticton scored four power-play goals in 12 opportunities in the home and home set. Furthermore, the Eagles have surrendered at least one power-play goal against in four of their last five games. Compounding that is their own struggles with the man advantage. Surrey is just one for 12 in their last two games on the power-play and three for 16 in their last three games.

Also keeping goals out of their net will be key for the Eagles tonight and going forward in January. Surrey has surrendered three or more goals to the opposition in four of their last five games.

However Surrey has played very well against the King this season, splitting the three previous meetings this season (1-1-1).

For the pulse on the Eagles, visit Colin Tiggelaar's blog ---> Click here 

The Kings are in the midst of modest two game winning streak after opening 2011 with a 4-1 loss in Langley. The Kings picked up wins over Alberni Valley (4-2) and Coquitlam (5-2) last week.

Powell River is 4-1 in their last five games and 9-1 in their last 10. The Kings can point to an improvement on their power-play for one of the reasons behind their current success. The team is 8-21 in their last five games and have scored on the man advantage in seven straight games.

One concerning trend in the special teams department is the dip in their penalty kill. The Kings have surrendered a power-play goal against in three straight games, including a short handed marker to Langley on January 2nd.  Even with the hiccup, Powell River still owns the best penalty-Kill in the BCHL at 90.32%. Maybe I'm just splitting hairs.

Also the Kings have been the beneficiary of depth scoring. Nine players have three or more points in their last five games. Four players have five or more points and three players have scored three or more goals in the last five games. This team is starting to show that all four lines can make an impact.

WHO'S HOT

Matt Garbowsky leads all Kings in scoring in the last five games. The Co-Captain has seven points (6-1-7) over that span. However, the six goals came in two games and he has just one assist in his last three games. Cohen Adair is enjoying a post Christmas Surge. The first year forward has six points (3-3-6) in five games and is coming off a two point night against Coquitlam. Dan Schuler has six assists in five games but hasn't scored in nine games. Teagan Waugh is continuing where he left off in December as he has three goals and five points in as many games.

 

The eagles point production of late isn't coming from their usual cast of characters. A second line right winger and a top two defenseman have been putting up the most points. Tyler Morely leads all forwards with two goals and five points and Riley Sweeney leads the charge from the back end. Sweeney numbers are identical to those of Morely. The Eagles top three in scoring have hit a dry spell of late. Bradley McGowan does have three points but no goals in five games. Richard Vanderhoek has two assists and Jeff Vanderlugt only has one goal. At one point this season, all three were in the top five of BCHL scoring.

STAT PACK

Surrey is getting reacquainted with the road this week. This will only be their third road game since December 5th and have played eight of their last nine at home. The Kings own the best home record in th BCHL and have won eight straight games at the HAP.

PUCK DROP

Mike Garteig will be making his first start in twelve days. Garteig last played January 2nd in Langley. It's Don Cherry night at the game. Fans are encouraged to wear their best Cherry attaire, with one fan winning 200 hundred dollars.