Although there are no Jacks in the lineup, the Canmore Eagles fulfilled their giant killer role for the third time this week on Tuesday (Oct. 29) when they eked out a 2-1 victory over the Okotoks Oilers.
It was their second win over the second-place Oilers in a week; a team that had previously defeated the Eagles in 16 of their previous 17 AJHL matchups.
Sandwiched between the two Okotoks games, the Eagles played their game of the year, defeating the first-place Brooks Bandits 4-3 in a shootout. Trey Phillips was the hero in scoring the shootout winner.
With coach Andrew Milne away at a Team Canada West Camp, assistant coaches Jeremy Reich and Kurtis Jones stepped up. The team responded with three tough wins in close games.
“The last few games, we played well structurally,” Reich said. “Collectively, we’ve played well as a group, getting the puck out of our own end. Before I thought we were a bit scrambly, but now the guys have bought in.”
On Tuesday, the Oilers sought revenge against the Eagles, but were stymied by goaltender Ryan Ferguson, who stopped 41 of 42 shots for a 2-1 win. Roman Meltzer was the hometown hero, scoring the game winner halfway through the second period on a seeing-eye point shot. Kurt Hildebrand and Jeremy Gordon drew assists.
Austen Hebert score the Eagles’ first goal, with Jakob Lavoie and Nik Kosman picking up assists.
Reich said the Eagles were happy to escape with a win Tuesday after Okotoks launched an all-out offensive assault, bombarding goaltender Ferguson from all angles. The Eagles defence made sure their ‘tender saw the puck and promptly gobbled up any rebounds he allowed.
“We knew they would come hard. They’re a team we took two points from in their building and they threw a lot of pucks at the net. (Ferguson) blocked a lot of shots and our penalty kill was good. You’re going to have games like this where you just have to weather the storm and rely on your goalie. We have some things to work on at practice tomorrow,” Reich said. “Good teams find a way to get two points and we did tonight.”
Team defence was solid against the Oilers, even though the shots were so lopsided.
“Fergie made some big saves for us, but I don’t think they had three, four, or five chances in a row. They had 42 shots, but some were from the outside and they could have had a lot more, so kudos to the guys,” Reich said.
“Tonight, we probably didn’t deserve the win, but Fergie bailed us out, so it’s nice to win. We’ve already lost a few this year that we deserved to win, so this one is nice,” Phillips said.
Without their coach, captain Nils Moser and sniper Luke Simpson, the Eagles are playing their best hockey of the year. Other leaders are emerging, as players such as Phillips are being counted on even more. Phillips has 16 points in 19 games and is one of the top defencemen in the league. His smooth skating and deft passing have earned him a U.S. scholarship at the University of Vermont.
“Everyone is buying in. Everyone is working hard and hitting bodies. I think that’s the difference. Everyone is committed,” Phillips said. “We’re a tight-knit group. It seems like more of family.”
The Eagles are on the road, facing off against Brooks on Friday (Nov. 1) and the Calgary Canucks on Monday (Nov. 4).
