Four games in, Surrey Eagles are unbeaten to start their BC Hockey League season.
The Eagles have scored four wins in a row during relatively tight games against Coastal Conference rivals, starting with a 4-2 win over Victoria Grizzlies in their home-opener Sept. 22 at South Surrey Arena.
Surrey then topped Coquitlam 4-1 on the road, beat Langley 3-2 at home last Friday night (Sept. 29) and, most recently, opened the month of October with a 4-2 victory over the visiting Chilliwack Chiefs on Sunday (Oct. 1).
With eight points in their first four games, the Eagles sit alone atop the BCHL standings as the league’s only undefeated team.
On the scoresheet Surrey has enjoyed a balanced attack, with three players tied with four points apiece (Americans Caden Cranston and Aaron Schwartz, Coquitlam’s Ante Zlomislic), and four others with three each (White Rock-raised captain Ty Brassington, Californian Arvea Hovsepyan, Ontario import Nathan Oickle and Langley’s Liam Tanner).
In net, Richmond-raised newcomer Ajeet Gundarah has started and won all four games, posting a sizzling .950 save percentage and just seven goals against.
With the BCHL gone independent, Eagles head coach and general manager Cam Keith spent much of his summer recruiting players from further afield to augment what’s now a 26-player roster. On the bench Keith now has help from assistant coaches Scott Gomez (the former Eagle star and two-time Stanley Cup champion) and Thomas Koshman (formerly with Langley Rivermen).
This weekend the Eagles have two games on the schedule, first Friday at South Surrey Arena against Chilliwack (Oct. 6, 7 p.m. puck drop), and then Saturday in Langley at George Preston Arena.
Of note this month is the BCHL’s annual Showcase event, moved from Chilliwack to Seattle’s Kraken Community Iceplex, the NHL team’s practice facility. From Oct. 22 to 26, all teams in the league will play two regular-season games in front of fans, NHL scouts and NCAA coaches.
The Eagles will play Showcase games Oct. 24 vs. Vernon and Oct. 26 against Salmon Arm, before the Surrey squad returns home for a pair of games at South Surrey Arena (Oct. 27 vs. Langley and Oct. 29 vs. Coquitlam). Schedules, scores and other team details are posted on surreyeagles.ca.
