CANMORE – Round one of the AJHL playoffs has turned into an uphill battle for the Canmore Eagles looking to even things up Wenesday night (March 9).
As of Tuesday (March 8), the junior A hockey team trailed the series 2-1 against the No. 3 ranked Camrose Kodiaks.
After splitting the first two games in Camrose, the Eagles dropped a hard-fought, scrappy Game 3, 4-2, at home on Tuesday.
“We had chances to score and the pucks just didn’t go our way,” said Eagles head coach Andrew Milne of Game 3. “The pucks sort of bounced their way tonight, and didn’t bounce our way.”
The Eagles were thrown in the sin bin five times on Tuesday, resulting in one goal on a five-on-three. Milne thinks his team has taken some bad penalties to a certain degree this series that have been emotionally fuelled.
“Unfortunately, at this time of year, those are the ones that hurt you,” he said.
He added he's been happy with how the Eagles have competed in the last two games.
Eagles defenceman Dylan Bidyk scored twice for the Eagles in Game 3. He thinks the team played solid at home, but just couldn’t pull it off.
“I didn’t expect to get two tonight, but, I mean, it’s nice to contribute. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win, but hopefully we’ll be ready to go [for the rest of the series],” he said.
Game 5 is in Camrose, Friday (March 11); if necessary, Game 6 is in Canmore on March 13 at 2 p.m.; and Game 7 is in Camrose on March 15.
