Heading into the 2014-15 AJHL season, the Canmore Eagles knew goaltending would be a strength of the club.
After the first 11 games of a season, it’s proving to be stronger than they could have hoped.
Rookie goaltender Levi Nelson picked up his second AJHL win on Friday (Oct. 3) against the Sherwood Park Crusaders, while Ryan Ferguson continued his hot play by stopping 30 shots in the team’s 6-2 win over the Calgary Canucks on Tuesday (Oct. 7) to push the team over the .500 mark.
The team is now 6-5, sitting fifth in the Southern Division after winning three of their last four games.
“You’ve gotta appreciate how hard (Nelson) battles … He gives our practice a high level of competition. We know how hard Fergie battles, but Levi is a warrior back there. He’s worked hard, he’s patient and I’m happy for him,” said general manager and head coach Andrew Milne. “The one thing we’ve got going for us is that tandem is good friends.”
Simon Philp scored twice against Sherwood Park, and Milne credited Jeremy Gordon for turning the team around with a fight in the second period.
“I like the way we played. Top to bottom we were good. Gordon couldn’t have timed that fight any better. We were losing emotion and with two minutes to go in the period, he gave us a chance with a good fight,” Milne said.
Streaky winger Jordan Revie was the offensive hero against the Canucks, scoring twice, while defenceman Jakob Lavoie had three assists. Simon Philp, Logan Ferguson, Kyle Pauls and Jeremy Gordon also scored for the Eagles.
The team was hungry for a win after an awful 5-4 loss to the Brook Bandits on Saturday (Oct. 4). The Eagles jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second period, however, the Bandits scored four straight goals to begin the second period.
Simon Philp drew the team within one goal with 45 seconds to play, and captain Connor Wilson was given a penalty shot with 16 seconds left in the game. Wilson missed, and Brooks took the win.
Playing .500 hockey after the first 10 games, the Eagles made two moves in hopes of jolting the team. They first traded 20-year-old defenceman Ashton McLeod to the Humboldt Broncos in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for future considerations. They also signed 18-year-old defenceman Kevin Wolf, who spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League. Wolf is listed at 6 foot 6, 200 pounds, and scored four points in 50 games for the Thunderbirds while picking up 31 penalty minutes.
“Wolf has a similar story to that of Griffin Mumby, who we picked up earlier this fall from the Regina Pats,” said Milne. “He just wasn’t getting the ice time in the WHL that he needed to help his overall development. Like Mumby, he should see a lot more ice time here and this will allow him to develop his skills.”
“I just wanted to come to a hockey club that wanted me and who would provide me with the opportunity to continue to play hockey and improve as a player,” said Wolf, who played his bantam hockey in Chicago, Illinois.
“Seattle called around looking for a spot for me and then Andrew and I talked on the phone and I decided to come to Canmore. I’ve never been here before, but it sure looks like a nice place to play hockey. I look forward to getting to know my teammates and hopefully help this team win some hockey games.”
The Eagles have a pair of games this weekend, as they face Brooks on Friday night (Oct. 11) and Fort McMurray on Saturday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. at Alex Kaleta Arena.
