The Matt Erhart Show: October 11, 2012

Birds Bounce Back With Win Over Cents

Trevor Cameron and Michael Stenerson each scored twice in the second period to help lead the Surrey Eagles to a big 5-1 victory over the Merritt Centennials on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Birds improved to 5-4-0-1 on the season. Michael Santaguida had a strong performance in goal, making 34 saves for his second BCHL victory.

Surrey opened the scoring at 16:05 of the first period when Stefan Burzan netted his second goal of the season, beating Merritt goaltender Tyler Steel with a wrist shot from the high slot. Despite being out shot in the opening frame, the Eagles took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Early in the middle frame, the Centennials got into penalty trouble and the Birds made them pay. Cameron gave Surrey a 2-0 lead with his first of the year at 3:21 on the power play, and just under 90 seconds later, Stenerson scored his third of the season while Centennials defenseman Kevin Lohan watched from the sin bin. Cameron potted his second of the afternoon at 7:30 after finishing off a two-on-one with Brandon Morley. Immediately after the goal, Merritt head coach Luke Pierce pulled Steel and replaced him with 18-year-old Russell Sanderson between the pipes. Stenerson extended the Surrey lead to five when he redirected a Craig Wyszomirski point shot that found its way between the legs of Sanderson at 13:34.

Cents defenseman Dylan Chanter broke Santaguida's shutout bid at 2:59 of the third period, scoring the lone goal for the Cents on the power play. The Merritt man advantage, which came into the day in first in the league, went 1-for-4 while Surrey went 2-for-3 on the power play.

Eagles forward Colton Mackie was given a game misconduct after getting into two fights in the hockey game. The Surrey native dropped the gloves with Charlie Donlin in the first period and Sean Maktaak in the second period.

The Birds play next on Saturday, October 13th in Prince George against the Spruce Kings.

My 3 Stars:
1. Trevor Cameron - Surrey
2. Michael Stenerson - Surrey
3. Drew Best - Surrey

Official 3 Stars:
1. Michael Santaguida - Surrey
2. Michael Stenerson - Surrey
3. Trevor Cameron - Surrey

Pre-Game Report: Eagles vs. Centennials

The Surrey Eagles will host the Merritt Centennials this afternoon at the South Surrey Arena in the first of two games between the teams this season. The Birds and Cents only faced each other once in the 2011-12 campaign. Merritt picked up a 2-0 win on October 21, 2011 at the Nicola Valley Arena.

The Eagles enter tonight's action on a two game losing streak, although the first of those two losses was in double overtime. It's the first time Surrey has lost two in a row this season. Despite the losses, Devon Toews has been a bright spot of late for the Birds, scoring in his last two games. The 18-year-old leads Eagles defensemen with six points in nine games this year.

Merritt is playing its third game in as many days and is coming off a 5-1 loss to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on the island last night. It was only the second regulation loss of the season for the Cents, who sit in second in the Interior Division. Rookie defenseman Dane Birks has had a good start to the year for Merritt, putting up nine points in seven games. The Williams Lake native will be attending Michigan Tech beginning in 2014.

After today's game, the Eagles will host another Sunday Skate. Bring your skates and sticks out to the rink and join the boys on the ice following the game at around 6:45pm.

Where: South Surrey Arena

When: 4:00pm

How to listen: http://ustream.tv/channel/surreyeagleshockey or on 88.7FM in the arena.

How to watch: http://fasthockey.com

Spruce Kings Chop Down Eagles

In their first meeting of the season, the Prince George Spruce Kings picked up a 4-1 victory over the Surrey Eagles at the South Surrey Arena on Friday evening. Bryant Christian led the way with two points for the Spruce Kings while Devon Toews scored the lone goal for the Eagles in the loss.

The teams battled back and forth in the opening frame and looked to be headed to the dressing room with the game still scoreless until Liam Board notched his fifth goal of the season, beating Surrey goaltender Glenn Ferguson to give the visitors a 1-0 lead heading to the break.

Midway through the second period, the Spruce Kings doubled their lead when Jake LeBrun knocked home a one-timer off a cross crease pass from Christian to make the game 2-0. Before the middle frame was finished, the Eagles pulled to within one when Devon Toews fired a slap shot past Prince George net minder Kirk Thompson on the power play. With that goal, the Birds snapped a drought with the man advantage that had extended to 28 straight power play opportunities without a goal.

In the third, the Spruce Kings would ice the victory, getting goals from Christian, who beat Ferguson with a wrap around, and Tyson Witala, who fired a back handed shot into the top shelf. Things got a little out of hand in the late going with a couple of fights. First, Latrell Charleson of Prince George dropped the gloves with Craig Wyszomirski of the Eagles. Charleson was given an instigator penalty while Wyszomirski picked up an aggressor penalty, both in addition to fighting majors and game misconducts. Then with just six seconds remaining, Demico Hannoun was assessed a kneeing major for a hit on Karan Toor of the Spruce Kings. Hannoun was then challenged by Prince George's Sean Landrey and both received fighting penalties and game misconducts. Landrey was also adjudged to be the instigator of that fight.

Despite scoring with the man advantage for the first time in over five games, the Eagles went 1-for-7 on the power play in the loss. Surrey now has a record of 4-4-0-1.

For Prince George, Thompson had a strong game between the pipes, making 27 saves for his fifth win of the young season. The Spruce Kings improved to 5-2-1-1 with the win and now sit in a tie with Coquitlam for first place in the Mainland Division.

Up next, the Eagles host the Merritt Centennials on Sunday afternoon. The puck drop is at 4:00pm. For tickets, call 604-531-4625.

My 3 Stars:
1. Bryant Christian - Prince George
2. Kirk Thompson - Prince George
3. Devon Toews - Surrey

Official 3 Stars:
1. Tyson Witala - Prince George
2. Devon Toews - Surrey
3. Kirk Thompson - Prince George

Pre-Game Report: Eagles vs. Spruce Kings

The Prince George Spruce Kings will visit the South Surrey Arena for the first time this season when they face the Surrey Eagles this evening. It's the first of eight games between the teams which is a big change seeing as they only met once in the 2011-12 campaign. In that game, the Birds triumphed 2-1 on December 18 of last year.

The Eagles are coming off last Sunday's double overtime loss to Chilliwack and sit in fourth in the Mainland Division with a record of 4-3-0-1. Despite dropping the game to the Chiefs, Surrey picked up three of a possible four points last weekend. However, the Birds have struggled on the power play of late, failing to convert on their last 25 opportunities with a man advantage.

"At the end of the day it comes back down to hard work," said head coach and GM Matt Erhart of the power play problems. "I think we were getting outworked for loose pucks, and guys were kind of waiting for the puck to get to them instead of attacking for the puck. When we do get the puck, we need to be more aggressive and attack seams and put the pressure on the penalty kill to kill the penalty and not just sit back and let us kill the penalty for them."

After picking up points in their first six games of the season, the Spruce Kings enter tonight's action looking to bump a two game losing skid, following losses in Merritt and Penticton last weekend. Tonight's game is only the second divisional match-up for Prince George this year while the Eagles have already faced opponents from the Mainland Division four times. New addition Cam Lawson, who joined the Spruce Kings from Victoria in the trade that saw the Fitzgerald triplets shipped to the island, leads the team in goals with five. Prince George currently sits in second in the Mainland Division with a 4-2-1-1 record, leaving them only two points back of Coquitlam.

Where: South Surrey Arena

When: 7:00pm

How to listen: http://ustream.tv/channel/surreyeagleshockey or on 88.7FM in the arena

How to watch: http://fasthockey.com

Colton Gillies Interview

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Colton Gillies has been skating with the Eagles over the past couple of weeks with the NHL lockout dragging on. The White Rock native played three games for the Eagles in the 2004-05 season but spent the rest of his junior career with Saskatoon of the WHL.

I had a chance to catch up with Colton after practice yesterday to discuss the NHL lockout, his plans if it drags on much longer and his thoughts on the Eagles and the BCHL.

The Matt Erhart Show: October 3, 2012