CANMORE – A gutsy do-or-die win by the Canmore Eagles has forced the Camrose Kodiaks into game seven in the opening round of AJHL playoffs.
“I’m proud of the guys, they deserved the win. You know being in a position where they were down and were able to battle back is a huge boost of confidence,” said Eagles’ head coach Andrew Milne.
On Monday evening (March 9), a fast-paced first period full of offensive opportunities for both sides ended the way it started, all square.
The Kodiaks, fresh off a 7-4 game five win, opened the scoring on the power play, courtesy of Griffen Fraser’s one-timer that beat a sprawling Kadin Kilpatrick.
The Manitoba-expat made his third consecutive start in the playoffs, and looked steady in net as the period wore on. That confidence moved up through the blue line to the offence.
“He’s [Kilpatrick] really been bringing it back there, him and [Devin] Chapman. When they battle for us we battle for them,” said defenceman Drae Gardiner.
The Eagles’ offence was buzzing, but the Kodiaks’ defence worked overtime to neutralize the Eagles’ Alex Young, Cale Lyons and Zach Carlson line.
The Eagles’ created more than seven scoring chances in the frame and were rewarded when defenceman Gardiner jumped up into the rush and capitalized on a nifty pass from behind the net from Michael Spafford.
“It was a huge boost for me to chip in, but I really got to give it up to Spafford and Jirousek – they really worked that play and without their hard work that goal wouldn’t have happened,” said Gardiner about his first of the series.
Camrose opened up the scoring in the second period and Canmore responded well, hemming the Kodiaks’ in its own zone, forcing the visitors to take penalties.
Milne said the penalties Camrose took were because of his side’s hard work down low.
Those ensuing powerplays for the Eagles’ proved to be profitable as they cashed in on two of the four man advantages thanks to Lane Paddison and Spafford, gaining a 3-2 lead.
“Cale Lyons had a great shot on net and I was able to get a stick on it and it went far side and found the back of the net,” said Spafford of his game winning goal.
Following the string of Eagles’ power plays, the Eagles maintained the majority of control in the offensive zone, at times it appeared as if the Eagles’ were on a powerplay, while playing even strength.
“The success on the powerplay was a huge boost to confidence. We have struggled a little bit with that this series. Tonight with Cale Lyons bombing the puck from up top, that really established our dominance,” Milne said.
“We’re a team with a lot of weapons and they have to respect every weapon we have.”
With defenceman Tayler Miller leaving the game after the first period, the Eagles relied heavily on Gardiner and Cameron Chin.
“The whole back end really stepped up. Drae Gardiner was fantastic – he must’ve logged 45 minutes out there, he was unbelievable and you win hockey games with leadership like that,” Milne said.
“With our back against the wall we played well. I know I gave everything – I battled for the boys and for the coaches. We should be pleased with the way we played tonight. We know we’re the better team,” said Gardiner.
The Eagles’ continued to smother the Kodiaks offensively and dominated the shot clock 47-26.
With the series tied at three-a-piece, game seven will take place in Camrose on Wednesday (March 11).
“If we can play disciplined the way we did tonight, limit their chances and keep on pilling on shots we will have success,” said Chin.
