Three years ago, the Canmore Eagles made a concerted effort to place more local talent on their roster.
Since then, six Canmore-born players have cracked the junior A roster and began to develop into legitimate players.
So when Canmore-born Simon Philp scored a hat trick to lead the Eagles into the second round of the AJHL playoffs, the message was clear: the system worked.
For the first time since 2010, the Eagles will move on to the second round of the playoffs after smiting the Camrose Kodiaks three games to one to win the best of five series on Monday (March 10) at Alex Kaleta Arena.
Philp played hero in the final match, as his hat trick was the difference in the Eagles’ 5-3 victory.
“It feels amazing,” Philp said. “Making the second round is something we haven’t done as an organization since I’ve been here. It feels so good to do that.”
The sizable winger had his chances through the tight-checking, hard-hitting series, but he and the Eagles broke out of a scoring drought early in game four. Philp scored twice in the first period and added another in the second to give the Eagles a 5-0 lead.
“I can’t remember (the last time I scored a hat trick). Maybe bantam AA?” Philp said. “I’ve been working hard all year and it finally came together today.”
Jordan Revie and Lane Olson also scored for the Eagles in the winning effort.
The Kodiaks potted three goals in the second half of the game, but were really not a threat to steal the win.
Playing the second game on back-to-back nights, the Eagles were riding an emotional high after Trey Phillips scored the overtime winner in game three, Sunday, to give the Eagles a stranglehold on the series. In overtime, the league MVP put an end to a grinding, hard fought battle with the Kodiaks when he gingerly carried the puck over the blue line and fired a wrist shot that fooled Kodiaks goaltender Devin McDonald on his glove side.
“I honestly just threw it on net and luckily it went in,” said Phillips, who added fatigue played a bigger part than hockey smarts on the game winner.
Camrose appeared to lack focus in game four, and the Eagles made them pay with their playoff lives. Ryan Ferguson was strong in net for the win after making what his coach called “series saving” stops on Sunday in game three.
The last time the Eagles made it this far in the playoffs, Florida Panthers goaltending prospect Sam Brittain was in net and helped carry the team through much of the year. This year, Ferguson is keeping the Eagles in every game while their work ethic and speed is overwhelming opponents.
Head coach Andrew Milne said the Kodiaks match-up was “a perfect series” for the Eagles.
“I’m happy for the guys. We competed at a level we’re capable of and this is a feather in the cap for the guys,” Milne said. “We’ll take this evening and enjoy it, but we know the challenge that lies ahead of us is huge.”
The Eagles will either face the first-place Brooks Bandits or Drumheller Dragons in the second round of the playoffs, depending on the outcome of the Okotoks/Olds series. If Olds wins, the Eagles draw the Dragons in a series that should start on Friday (March 14).
While it’s been a while since the Eagles had a 5-0 lead on any opponent, Milne said it was well deserved.
“We wanted to take any life they had early,” Milne said. “Whenever you work a team over that hard in their own end, you’re going to get chances and we scored.”
Giving up three goals in the second half of the game didn’t surprise Milne, so he wasn’t too concerned about the late comeback push.
“That’s typical of our team. We weren’t going to win that one 5-0. Our team has never done anything the easy way, so why would we do that now?” he said.
In a surprising move, Milne sat out captain Nils Moser in the final game, inserting Austin Hebert, who was strong for the Eagles. The call wasn’t an easy one, he said, but he said the captain will return to the lineup.
“It’s awful. We’re playing four games in five nights, but that’s what having an extra guy does. When they sit, they come back awesome,” Milne said.
But after reflecting on the team, Milne said Philp’s effort was the story.
“That was fantastic for Simon. He’s been a warrior all year for us. To come back from a devastating injury last year where he wasn’t sure if he’d ever play hockey again, it’s huge.”
The league will announce its second round schedule on Thursday (March 13).
