GAME PREVIEW: Eagles vs. Kings

RECORD: Eagles 33-18-1-2 Kings 41-8-3-2

LAST 5: Eagles 3-2-0-0 Kings 5-0-0-0

STREAK: Eagles lost 2 Kings won 6

(5 game season series)

 HEAD TO HEAD: Eagles 1-3-1-0 Kings 3-1-1-0

ROAD/HOME: Eagles 1-1-0-0 Kings 1-1-0-0

POWER-PLAY: Eagles 4/24 (17%) Kings 7/26 (27%)

PENALTY-KILL: Eagles 19/26 (73%) Kings 20/24 (83%)

GOALS FOR: Eagles 9 Kings 17

POINTS LEADERS: Eagles- Richard Vanderhoek (2-3-5) Kings- Chad Niddery (3-5-8)

Season Series: This will be the sixth and final regular season meeting between the Kings and the Eagles. The two teams last met on February 3rd in Surrey, with the Kings picking up a 3-0 victory. The Kings have already won the series on points alone, however neither team wants to end on a losing note.

Team Scope

Eagles: The Eagles have hit a road block early in February. Surrey entered the last month of the regular season on a high, as their win February 2nd against Coquitlam was their third straight. However, since then the birds have lost two straight while being outscored 6-1.

The Eagles dropped a 3-0 decision to Powell River last Thursday at the South Surrey Arena. Mike Garteig was strong in that contest.  The third period was his busiest where he had to make some key saves to preserve the goose egg.  Garteig stopped 30 shots and in the process tied a BCHL single season shutout record. The Eagles were assesed two game misconducts in the game, as Mitch Jones was guilty of a check from behind and Dan Gentzler took a blow to the head major.  Gentzler's penalty automatically carries a two game suspension under the new Supplement rules.

One night later the Eagles ran into another hot goaltender in Victoria's Matt Ginn. The Holy Cross bound Ginn stopped 40 of 41 shots for first star honours in his teams 3-1 win. The Eagles struggles in their last two games can be contributed to their special teams.

In the two losses the Eagles went 0-10 on the power-play, including a 0-7 performance against the Grizzlies. Their penalty-kill has allowed at least one goal in five straight games.  Powell River has scored at least one power-play goal in all five contests this year.

Kings:  Powell River's win streak has now hit six games and they will look for their third straight against the Eagles tonight. The Kings took all three games on their Lower Mainland swing one week ago.

When dissecting the Kings winning streak over the last six games, look no further than the power-play which is 10/31 over that stretch. During their three game road trip the man advantage was clicking, going 5-17. Before Christmas the team struggled on power-play opportunities during key times in games. Recently they have reversed that trend.

There has also been a return to team defense like we were accustomed to seeing before the Christmas break. The Kings only gave up two goals in their last three games and three in their last four. The Cowichan contest was a stark reminder that if this team is not mentally sharp they can find themselves in trouble.

Who's Hot: Chad Niddery puts his six game assist streak on the line tonight against the Eagles. The veteran forward extened the streak with an assist on Bond Hawryluk's goal on Saturday. In fact, the line of Niddery with Bond and Brendan Hawryluk has five points in two games together. Point streaks came to an end on Saturday for Cohen Adair and Jon Jutzi. Adair was riding a five game streak whereas Jutzi was sitting on a four game streak.

In a season series perspective, Niddery has been a thorn in the Eagles side.  In five games Niddery has eight points. Matt Garbowsky (injured) has six points in five games against the Eagles.

Richard Vanderhoek leads the Eagles against the Kings. Vanderhoek has five points in as many games against the Kings.  However, all five points came in the series opening 6-5 win for the Eagles on September 19th.

Injury Report: Matt Garbowsky (lower body), Teagan Waugh (lower body), Cohen Adair (upper body), Dan Schuler (upper body) and Justin Bardarson (illness) are all out for the Kings. Insert AP Cole Thompson up front and Zach Urban on the back end for Powell River. The Kings will dress 11 forwards and 7 defensemen.

Not dressed for Surrey is Cobi Smith-Mass, Steve Koshey, Dale Hunt and Daniel Gentzler (suspension)

Stat Pack: The Kings have scored the first goal in four of the five games against the Eagles this season.