Fourth line grinders are the unsung heroes of one-goal wins and thankfully for the Canmore Eagles, they have some of the best.
Kyle Pauls, Lane Olsen and Kurt Hildebrand proved their worth again against the top teams in the southern division, bringing intensity and tenacity to the Eagles line.
They skated miles in the team’s 2-1 loss to Okotoks on Friday (Nov. 29) and the trio proved to be the decisive force on Saturday (Dec. 1) as the Eagles edged the first-place Brooks Bandits by a score of 2-1. Olson scored the winner in overtime, while Connor Wilson and Trey Phillips drew assists.
“That Pauls, Olson and Hildebrand line, they played big minutes against Brooks and Okotoks. Pauls played great. He’s been a contributing factor and we’ve seen him make the jump this season. We didn’t have Olson through October (he missed a month with mononucleosis) and he’s getting back into his game, and Kurt has been solid for us all year. All three have been a factor for us,” said head coach Andrew Milne.
Pauls play is leaps and bounds ahead of last year’s performance, where he frequently found himself on the bench or in the press box. He has two goals and four penalty minutes in 21 games, but his forechecking game is coming around.
“Kyle is playing a more structured game this year. He’s skating well after watching a lot of hockey last year. It’s taken some time for him to understand the game at the Junior A game,” Milne said.
For years, the Eagles third and fourth line were an adventure, full of inexperienced players prone to mistakes. This year, the coach has faith in the trio, which allows the squad to roll four lines.
“We play four lines and that gave us success against Brooks. Against Okotoks, we kept the pace up and had energy left against Brooks, where we rolled some depth,” Milne said.
The team is sitting in fourth place in the Southern division with a 16-13-2 record. Although they’re 7-3-1 in the past 11 games, goal scoring is becoming a heightened concern. Sniper Luke Simpson could return as early as this week from his dislocated elbow injury, however there is a chance he’ll need another week of recover. He had eight goals and four assists in 13 games before he was injured.
“We haven’t scored a lot in the last month. We know we have Luke waiting in the wings. He could be in this weekend or he could wait until the tenth,” Milne said.
Kyle Ferguson was excellent in both games this past weekend, but Milne would like to get Cam Barnes a start on Thursday night at home against Bonnyville or Saturday at home against the Calgary Mustangs.
In other Eagles news, the team is currently selling Christmas trees at MJ Landscaping on Bow Valley Trail. The Balsam Firs, Douglas Firs and Fraser Firs were shipped in from a Christmas tree farm in Ontario and are for sale by the foot. All proceeds go to the Canmore Eagles hockey club. The Eagles will also participate in the annual Royal LePage Food Drive on Thursday (Dec. 5).
