The curtain fell on the Canmore Eagles’ 2015/2016 AJHL season with a resounding thud Tuesday (March 22) at Alex Kaleta Arena thanks to the bruising Brooks Bandits.
Even with an outstanding performance by goaltender Ryan Bontorin and punishing defensive play from Braiden Doucette and Jakob Lavoie, the Brooks Bandits overpowered the Canmore Eagles in convincing fashion, winning four straight to the tune of 8-0, 4-0, 6-2, and 5-0.
The Bandits outscored the Eagles 23-2 over the four game series, clinching the win with a 5-0 victory, where the visiting team proved to be too big, too fast and too punishing for the upstart Eagles.
“I thought they came pretty hard. They were aggressive. They were all over us at times. They had depth and were able to rest, and that cost us toward the end,” said head coach and general manager Andrew Milne.
The Bandits’ game plan was executed to a tee. First, they hooked, tripped and harassed Eagles leading scorer Matt Forchuk to distraction, throwing the crafty centre off his game. Wingers Logan Ferguson and Adam Tisdale were slammed into the boards at every opportunity, while agitators Lane Olson and Brett Radford were thrown off their game. When younger Eagles made it on the ice, the Bandits pounced.
“Their experience and depth outplayed our experience and depth. I thought we battled hard, I thought we competed and at times I thought we carried the play. At the end of the day, they were too healthy, too strong and too deep for us to push back,” Milne said.
The Bandits’ cycle wore down the Eagles’ defence, as their skilled forwards targeted younger defencemen throughout the series, and the Eagles were missing Brady Biccum from their lineup.
“Give them credit. They are a good hockey club. I thought at times we responded. We carried the play at times, we didn’t sit around and watch,” Milne said.
Captain Jakob Lavoie was choked up after the end of the match, as it also marked the completion of his AJHL career.
“It’s hard to describe. It’s tough to see it all come to an end. The best three years of my life were spent here. We had some awesome guys, we battled hard through the last game. We didn’t back down. We were dishing it out as well,” Lavoie said.
Looking back on the year as a whole, Milne said he was happy with the team’s play. At the beginning of the season, he wanted the Eagles to win a playoff series, and earn home ice advantage. Both of those goals were accomplished.
“The experience we gave this group, we’re going to be better for it. This organization in the last three years has played 20 playoff games. That’s something we want to build off.
“We’ve been to the second round twice in three years. I really believe we have the group to do something moving forward,” Milne said.
The game ended the AJHL career of six players – Doucette, Radford, Lavoie, Olson, Brett Schimmel, and Kurt Hildebrand. Milne said he’s proud of what the team has accomplished, considering most of them spent many years in the Eagles system. They stuck with those players through strong play and dry stretches, but Milne said that’s what the team is all about.
“It was a roller coaster of emotions at times through the year. We were really good and really bad at times. That’s what young guys do. We weren’t as calm and cool as I wanted, but these guys have tremendous experience now,” Milne said.
“Some of the guys like Olson, Radford, Schimmel – they have been loyal. I think the loyalty we show is exceptional. We recruit the right guys and stay with them. We’ve made an effort to commit to guys and stick with them. I think this league gives up on guys too quickly at times.”
The head coach is already looking ahead to next season, where he knows he’ll have a proven goaltender in Bontorin, and a solid group of forwards.
“Bontorin was our MVP and against a tough team, he played well. We will have some holes to fill on the back end, but I thought guys like Adamu Tanaka and Cole Noble made huge strides. We will have a potent forward group,” Milne said.
