Five games left in the season and it took the Canmore Eagles 20 days before recording their first regulation loss of the month, placing the team comfortably in fourth place in the AJHL’s southern division.
Improved play and an easier schedule have helped the Eagles in February, as the team appears set for a collision course with the Drumheller Dragons in the first round of the playoffs. The two teams also face off on March 4 – the last game of the regular season.
After defeating the struggling Grande Prairie Storm 4-3 on Friday (Feb. 19) night, it took the red-hot Whitecourt Wolverines, ranked ninth in the nation, to shut down the Eagles on Saturday, (Feb. 20) at Alex Kaleta Arena. The Wolverines defeated the Eagles 6-0, dropping Canmore’s record to 4-1-2 over the month, and 24-25-6 on the season.
The Eagles were without Ryley Risling, Kyle Pauls, Brayden Biccum, Nolan Kurylo and Cole Noble; all are out with injuries.
“We got ourselves into some penalty trouble and that certainly didn’t help our cause,” said head coach and general manager Andrew Milne. “Whitecourt is a top ranked team in the country for a reason – they skated hard and they certainly used their size to their advantage.
“We need our full lineup to be competitive against a team like that. Although this loss is tough, we are still 4-1-2 for the month, so we will just regroup and get ready for next weekend.”
Milne wasn’t impressed with his team’s effort against the Storm on Friday night, as they just eked by one of the worst teams in the league. Braden Saretsky, Colton Young, Logan Ferguson and Adam Tisdale scored for the Eagles.
“The best thing about (Friday’s) game was the play of our affiliate player, Colton Young,” Milne said. “Young was great tonight. He was strong on pucks and made smart reads. His future looks bright. Our team was not great tonight, but we played just good enough to win.”
This weekend will be a true test for the Eagles, as the team heads north to take on the Camrose Kodiaks, Spruce Grove Saints and Drayton Valley Thunder for three games in three nights. After that, the Eagles have two games at home to finish the regular season – March 1 versus Olds and March 4 against Drumheller.
