There appears to be no end to the Canmore Eagles’ injury woes.
Backup goaltender Levi Nelson is still out with a high ankle sprain, leaving Ryan Ferguson without relief for the past six weeks. Blueline anchors Jakob Lavoie and Nik Kosman were joined by Brett Schimmel on the injured list this week, forcing Griffin Mumby to play an astonishing 38 minutes a game.
Up front, hulking centre Brett Radford is still out of action, putting added pressure on captain Connor Wilson to generate even more offence.
The injuries, partnered with a hectic schedule, left the Eagles dog tired in back to back games against two league powerhouses – the Spruce Grove Saints and the Brooks Bandits – last week.
The Eagles pressed Spruce Grove to the brink on Friday (Nov. 28), but still lost 4-3 to one of the toughest teams in junior A hockey, managing a measly two shots in the third period. Ryley Risling scored twice against the Saints, who had a wild bus ride through the treacherous blizzard, but found their legs by the second period.
Against Brooks on Saturday (Nov. 29), Matt Forchuk scored twice, but the Bandits rolled over the Eagles with seven goals for an easy 7-2 win.
After the game, head coach and general manager Andrew Milne said he couldn’t fault his banged up team, as the effort was there, but the bodies weren’t.
“You could see on a couple of their goals, we just didn’t have the gas. I thought Mumby looked tired tonight, and he should be. He’s played a lot of hockey. Same with Jeremy Gordon. They’re two warriors that have a lot more in them, but they were out of gas tonight,” Milne said.
“You can’t blame those guys. I thought they’ve been good all year. It’s hard. We can play that pace with a full lineup. I thought for two periods we were good.”
Milne said he’s not concerned about his goaltender, who’s physically fit, but needs a rest. The Eagles had eight days off before their game Saturday (Dec.6) against Grande Prairie.
“The big thing is we have a week off until we play and an opportunity to really rest. We need the rest. We’re not playing with enough bodies that we can play the way we want to play. We like to skate and play a quick transition game and it’s hard with the lineup we had tonight,” Milne said.
The team did add defenceman Deryk Sutherland to the lineup on Saturday from Dauphin of the MJHL for future considerations to help stem the tide. Sutherland got into a fight in his first game with a much larger Bandits opponent to mark his start with the club.
The good news is heading into December, the Eagles have seven games against the league’s lesser lights, including their next home game on Dec. 9 against the Calgary Canucks. After the seven-game stretch, the Eagles will have two weeks off for Christmas break, as they close out 2014 on Dec. 20 at home, again against Grande Prairie.
That being said, the Eagles will be without three of their best players this weekend, as well as their coach. Milne will leave the team briefly as he’s been asked to help select team Canada West again this year at a training camp in Kindersley, Sask., which brings together the best junior A players in Western Canada. He’ll take two Eagles with him in Mumby and Risling.
“In order to give our guys the best possible opportunity to make that team, we won’t take them to Grande Prairie on Saturday,” Milne said.
This will be Milne’s third year helping select the team. He was an assistant coach for two seasons.
“It’s an interesting event. It’s good for the exposure and it’s also good for myself to get to all of those colleges. Obviously, there’s going to be a lot of interest in Risling, Wilson, Ferguson, Ferguson Jr. and Revie. To have those conversations, sometimes you’ve got to go to them.”
This will be the first time Risling has been asked to represent Canada. He’s currently ranked second in team scoring with 19 goals and 14 assists in 30 games.
“It’s an honour and just cool to get selected to try out. I hope to make it. I can add size and speed, and play my role,” Risling said.
Mumby has played for U16 Team Alberta and U17 Team Pacific, but this is his first time at a Team Canada camp.
“It’s a tremendous honour to be invited to a camp like that. The goal is to go and make the team. There’s a lot of good players, so we’ll go out and see,” Mumby said.
