BANFF - An offensive flurry in the third period propelled the Canmore Eagles to a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Canucks in Friday (Sept. 20) night's home opener in Banff.
Alex Young scored one goal and had three points in the Eagles first win of the season. Tian Rask scored and had two points, and Tristan Zandee, Zach Carlson, and Connor Lyons each scored.
Eagles goalie, Logan Dyck, made 30 saves in the win at Banff Fenlands arena, and was key in keeping the Eagles in the game after the team was handed four penalties in the final frame.
"I think just knowing that momentum would shift if we killed those off and if we stayed focused and had a good penalty kill ... I thought just killing them off as a whole, as a unit, would help us win," Dyck said.
Andrew Milne, Eagles head coach and general manager, said the PK is only as good as your goalie and praised his netminder.
"I thought tonight Logan was good," Milne said. "He's calm, he's cool under pressure, he did a lot of good things to keep the puck away from the front of our net when he could ... the penalty kill is something we're going to continue to work on, but I think our guys were committed to doing a good job in blocking and getting in the way and they did that tonight."
The Eagles lost, 5-3, in its first game against the Canucks in Calgary on Wednesday (Sept. 18), but the Eagles improved its record 1-1 with four straight third period goals in Friday's game.
It was the first time the Eagles won a home opener in Banff. The team is playing at the Fenlands arena for home games while the Canmore Rec Centre is under renovations.
Carlson, who scored Friday's game-winner, said the lively and energetic Banff crowd was a "big energy boost" for the players.
"The Banff atmosphere is just amazing," Carlson said. "The fans love us and we really appreciate it and the support they showed us today was very good and we don't take it lightly, it makes us better, so a real big thank you to Banff."
UP NEXT: On Saturday (Sept. 21) night in Okotoks, the Eagles take on the Oilers at 7 p.m.
