Two-thirds of the Canmore Eagles’ high-flying top unit has been invited to a Team Canada West selection camp in Leduc, where they will fight for the chance to play with the best from the BCHL and AJHL.
Matt Forchuk and Logan Ferguson are in the midst of an absolute dream season, as Forchuk is leading the AJHL in scoring (18 goals, 25 assists in 28 games) while Ferguson has nine goals and 26 assists in 28 games. The third member of the Eagles’ big three, Lane Olson, has 12 goals and 24 assists in 28 games, but didn’t get the call.
“They both deserve the opportunity to be there,” said Eagles head coach and general manager Andrew Milne. “They worked so hard this summer and at the beginning of the season. To get rewarded for that, it builds positive reinforcement for the effort they’re putting into this.”
The duo will join the training camp Saturday after the Eagles’ big match on Friday (Dec. 4) against the Camrose Kodiaks.
“It’s awesome to be selected. It’s just the first step to be there,” Forchuk said. “Obviously, I want to show my speed, playmaking and work down low. I’ll work hard all over the ice and finish when I have a chance.”
The prolific centre said he’s learned a lot over the past year, and made adjustments to his game to be successful.
“This year I’m going to the net a lot harder. When I have the opportunity, I’m finishing a lot more. That’s a big key,” Forchuk said. “I’m not the biggest guy. I saw last year with Connor Wilson you don’t have to be big to get points in this league. I want to show the younger guys who are small you just need to be tenacious, fast and have to want to get it done.”
Ferguson has also blossomed with a larger role this year. He’s developed a penchant for clutch scoring, but didn’t expect to make such a large jump.
“I feel really good about the selection. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and line mates. I have to thank them,” Ferguson said. “I thought there was going to be some improvement. For the team, I think we’ve been way better than last year.”
He plans to keep his game simple at the camp, and let the chips fall where they may.
“I’m going to work hard every shift and see what happens. I have to make the team first, but I’ll miss the boys. They’re my best friends. It will suck to be without them,” Ferguson said.
The news also propelled the Eagles out of a three game slide, as they trounced the hapless Calgary Mustangs 5-1 on Saturday (Nov. 28). Griffin Mumby scored twice for the Eagles, as their Calgary opponent crumbled in the second period.
Heading into the game, the Mustangs had lost an astonishing 20 games in a row, however, didn’t play as such in the first period. They staked out an early lead and their confidence swelled. The Mustangs took it to the Eagles early, before Mumby was able to tie it up. Forchuk and Olson made the assist.
Midway through the second, Forchuk scored a powerplay marker, and that deflated the Mustangs. Brett Radford, Lane Olson and Jake Ashton scored in quick succession, and the Calgary squad was deflated, and decided to goon up the game. Jonas Gordon laid out a thundering hit for which he was kicked out of the game, and the game devolved from there. Mumby scored his second in the dying seconds of the third to complete the rout.
“(Calgary) played pretty hard. To me they didn’t look like a team that lost 20 in a row. They do some good things. Our boys bounced back from their last game (a 6-1 loss to Bonnyville on Nov. 25). The two games before we probably could have won, but the last game wasn’t good enough,” Milne said.
Getting traffic in front of the goaltender was the key to victory for the Eagles, Milne said, as once they did that, the game quickly got out of reach.
“Getting traffic in front of goaltenders. We talked about that after the first. We’re not at full health. We had 10 forwards and six defencemen. I thought we were good with what we had in the lineup,” Milne said.
The Eagles play Camrose twice this weekend, and then play on Tuesday (Dec. 8) in Banff for their annual game at Fenlands arena.
