Surrey Eagles' defence never rests

By Michael Booth

Michael-Lee Teslak knows a good situation when he lands in it.

The Prince George Spruce Kings goalie was pressed into service by the Surrey Eagles when both of Surrey's puck stoppers were injured in collisions with opposing forwards. One week after his Spruce Kings were eliminated by the Vernon Vipers in the B.C. Hockey League's semifinal round, Teslak was taking on the Vipers again. This time around, however, he had a lot of help from the Eagles outstanding collection of veteran defencemen.

"These guys are more solid than our defence up in PG," Teslak said Sunday after the Eagles knocked off the Vipers in five games to win the BCHL title.

"They help out a lot and there's not many rebounds. They're bigger and stronger in front of me so they block guys out and allow me do my job without worrying about second and third saves all the time."

Teslak has stumbled upon one of the best-kept secrets of the BCHL playoffs this spring. Surrey's offence and goaltending have gotten all kinds of attention from opposing coaches and the media but everyone seems to be overlooking the impressive play of the Eagles' blue line corps.

In the 21 games Surrey has played since the playoffs started at the beginning of May, the Eagles have held opponents to just 49 goals, a 2.33 average per game. This is almost a full goal better than the team's regular season rate of 3.23 per game.

The Eagles goaltending has been outstanding in the playoffs but the guys in the big pads have had plenty of help from the team's defencemen.

"We have seven defencemen here who can do the job night in and night out," said defenceman Stuart Thiessen. "We have five veteran guys who have been around the block and have few years of junior hockey underneath their belt. That really helps when it comes down to crunch time. In one-goal games with five minutes left, we have five guys who can go out on the ice and get the job done."

The Eagles defence has been a work in progress before the first puck dropped back in September. When the season began, the Eagles had just one defenceman with any junior A experience, Tyler Eckford.

Through trades and deadline deals, the Eagles were able slowly assemble the pieces of what may well be the best set of blue liners in the BCHL. Now there are just two rookies - Brock Meadows and TJ Miller - on the blue line while the rest of the unit is heavy with seasoned vets. Led by Eckford, a seventh round pick of the New Jersey Devils, the Surrey defence includes:

z Tyson Moulton, a 19-year-old with four years of junior hockey experience.

z David Moncur, a rugged defender who helped Nanaimo win a BCHL title last season.

z Dan Idema, who was a top-four defenceman with the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers last year and played in the Memorial Cup.

z Thiessen, who won a Memorial Cup last year with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets.

"I'm the greenest one of all the older guys," Eckford said with a laugh. "I'm kind of the greenest veteran and I watch what those other guys do. Moulton is really tough and he's defensive and he hits. I watch him and he kind of watches me and we make a good pair together."

The playoffs are always a war of attrition but the Eagles have had a rougher road than most. Surrey has taken on and ultimately eliminated arguably the three best teams in the BCHL in Chilliwack, Nanaimo and Vernon. To make matters worse, when Surrey ousted Vernon Sunday night, the game was the Eagles' 12th in 17 nights.

With a schedule like that, veteran leadership is critical.

"The experience from last year really helps," Idema said of the Tigers playoff run last year. "You learn how to grind it out in the playoffs because it's such a long haul. I picked up a few things last year about resting the body and getting prepared for games and such. The grind can be really tough on you mentally and it's even more this year."

Since the playoffs began, the Surrey defence has gotten stronger with each series. Knocking off defending champion Nanaimo was a huge hurdle for the Eagles. Against the Vipers in the final, the Surrey blue line crew kept Vernon forwards at a distance for most of the five games.

Part of the reason for Surrey's defensive success has been the players' willingness to make sacrifices.

"You look at a guy like Tyler Eckford who is a real offensive defenceman, he's played a big part in the role of being a stay-at-home defenceman like the rest of us," Moulton said. "We have enough forwards who can do the scoring for us. We're veterans so we have to be leaders and show what we can do."

And the defencemen have no problem with being overlooked just as long as they can keep advancing all the way to next month's Royal Bank Cup tournament.

"This is awesome," Moncur said. "If the goalies and the forwards are getting all the attention - that's great. As long as we're winning each series, the more the better."

posted on 04/25/2005