One game at a time.
It’s boilerplate coach-speak – in the sports cliche hall of fame alongside such gems as “giving it 110 per cent,” and “it is what it is.”
Nevertheless, “one game at a time” is exactly the way Surrey Eagles head coach Matt Erhart and his players are planning to prepare for the Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup, which hits the ice in Nanaimo this weekend.
And considering all but their B.C. Hockey League colleagues, the Nanaimo Clippers, will be unfamiliar to them, it’s not a bad strategy.
The Eagles play the first game against the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion Brooks Bandits Saturday, and follow that with a game Monday against the Steinbach Pistons, champs of the Manitoba junior ‘A’ circuit.
Other teams taking part include the host Clippers – who’ve sat idle since March 20 after being eliminated in the first-round of BCHL playoffs – and the Yorkton Terriers (Saskatchewan).
“We’re not familiar (with the other teams), but it’s the same for everybody,” Erhart said.
“We play Brooks first, so I’m going to watch Brooks’ last game online, and show it to the guys so we can get a feel for them, and our game Saturday is the first one of the day, so after that, we can watch all the other teams in person.
“We’re just going to focus on one team at a time. We’ll worry about Brooks, then move on to (Steinbach).”
The five-team tournament will start with a round-robin, in which each team plays each other once. From there, the fifth-place team is eliminated, and the No. 1 and 2 seeds will face off, with the winner earning the first berth in the Royal Bank Cup national tournament.
The three and four seeds will also play, with the loser eliminated and the winner playing whichever top-two seed lost the one-versus-two seed battle. The winner of that game also earns a berth in the RBC Cup, set for next month in Summerside, P.E.I.
“It’s kind of set up like curling, the way the tournament works,” Erhart said. “It’s good because it rewards you for having a good round-robin, but at the same time, if you have a rough start and lose a couple, you’re still able to come back.”
The Eagles, who defeated the Penticton Vees for the Fred Page Cup Sunday night, are on a 14-3 run this post-season, and while the other teams, Nanaimo excluded, are also riding momentum gained by winning their respective league titles, Erhart is confident his group will continue its charge.
“We’re 14-3, and really, have been on a pretty good roll since Christmas,” he said. “We’re on a bit of an emotional high, and our guys are focused. They want to win the Royal Bank Cup.
“We haven’t talked about the Royal Bank Cup yet, but everyone knows that’s what we’re going after… (Westerns) is just another stage we have to get through.”
For more on the Western Canada Cup, or for results as they happen, visit www.westerncanadacup.ca
Shaw invited to NHL camp
To say Surrey Eagles forward Brady Shaw is having a pretty good week may be an understatement.
First, the 20-year-old Ottawa native won the Fred Page Cup, knocking off Penticton, a team that once released him. And also this week, Shaw learned he’d been invited by the Montreal Canadiens to the NHL team’s development camp this summer.
“When they asked me to come to their camp, I was pretty excited,” said Shaw, who is the son of former NHL defenceman Brad Shaw.
“It’ll be tough. I’m going to put in a lot of hard work leading up to it, and hopefully it’ll pay off.”
Erhart said Shaw’s invite was “nice recognition” for the veteran forward, who finished fifth in BCHL scoring during the regular season, with 38 goals and 32 assists in 54 games.
“It’s exciting news for Brady,” Erhart said. “I think his overall game has gone to the next level since he joined our team… it’ll be a good experience for him.”
