Gameday: Eagles vs. Grizzlies

Who: Surrey Eagles vs. Victoria Grizzlies
When: February 16, 4:00 pm
Where: South Surrey Arena

Pay-Per-View: FAST Hockey
Radio: Ustream

The Eagles wind down a busy weekend, and their regular-season home schedule this afternoon with a matchup against the Island division-leading Victoria Grizzlies. The Eagles will be thankful for a quick opportunity to bounce back from a frustrating setback in Chilliwack last night, in what oddly enough is the first meeting of the regular season between Surrey and Victoria.

Eagles forward Joe Drapluk led the way offensively with a pair of goals Saturday, both of which were overshadowed by a late lapse that was sparked by a controversial body-check on Surrey set-up man Nathan Renouf behind the play. Surrey will have had the day to regain their focus, though, and will take a home record that's produced 13 wins in the last 17 outings onto the ice against a Victoria team that has posted victories in two tough away buildings (West Kelowna and Penticton) already this weekend.

Tonight, we honour a pair of overage players who will take part in their final junior hockey regular-season home game. Oakville, Ontario's Braedan Russell will attend Brown University next season. Local product Colton Mackie will dress in his 184th regular-season game in an Eagles uniform tonight, winding down a four-year Surrey career that included a pivotal role in last season's Fred Page Cup and Western Canada Cup champion squad.

Last Meeting: The two sides have not met since a 2-1 Victoria victory on December 8, 2012 on the Island. Gerry Fitzgerald had both Grizzlies goals.

Our Opponent: Victoria has put together one of the most consistent campaigns of the 2013-14 season, and come into play today one point behind Langley for the BCHL's highest point total. The Grizzlies are also playing their third game in as many days after 8-5 and 3-1 wins in West Kelowna and Penticton, respectively. Up front, the Grizzlies are buoyed by the Fitzgerald triplets, though Myles and Gerry have only recently been re-joined by Leo, the reigning BCHL Player of the Week. RPI commit Alec Dillon has, at the age of 17, posted an impressive 19-6-2 record between the pipes, while Nic Renyard posted the victory against his former Penticton club last night.