Trey Phillips scored his second hat trick of the month to power the Canmore Eagles to a 4-2 victory over the Olds Grizzlys, Tuesday (Nov. 26) in AJHL action at Alex Kaleta arena.
The win keeps the Eagles in third place overall in the southern division, one point behind second-place Okotoks and nine points back of first-place Brooks – two teams the Eagles play this weekend. The Eagles are on the road to Okotoks Friday (Nov. 29) and host Brooks, Saturday (Nov. 30).
After the team dropped back-to-back games to the Camrose Kodiaks over the weekend, Phillips and the Eagles took out their frustrations on a listless Grizzlys squad.
The slick-skating Phillips opened scoring on the powerplay in the first period, added another off the rush and finished off the hat trick with one of the prettiest goals of the year in the third period, picking up the puck at the blueline, sweeping in and around an inexperienced Olds defender before beating sprawling Olds goaltender Jake Tamagi. He’s now the Eagles’ leading scorer with 14 goals and 14 assists in 28 games, good enough for 11th in league scoring and first among defencemen.
“When you’re scoring, you don’t think. You just react,” Phillips said.
Phillips was with the team through several low periods in the team’s history, and was often on the injured list. He stuck with the Eagles, battled through the adversity and now has a Division I NCAA scholarship waiting for him in Vermont.
“It definitely means that much more. We went through three years of being down,” Phillips said.
He’s playing solid defensively partnered with John Stevens, and has benefited from his work with assistant coach Jeremy Reich, who runs the defence. This year, Phillips is bigger, stronger and more confident than ever, and that’s made all the difference.
“I think its just confidence. I believe in myself. But I’ve got to give the guys credit. I’m getting found in back door spots, like on the first goal tonight. They’re getting me the puck,” Phillips said.
“Trey is a great player. He’s got great vision, sees the ice very well and goes to the spots. He’s doing the right things around him,” said coach Andrew Milne, who noted Phillips could have had two more hat tricks over the weekend. “He’s truly competitive in the way he plays. We’ve had some down times and he’s always stuck to the game plan and he’s reaping the benefits of years of sticking with it.”
Milne said the entire team put forth a good effort in Camrose despite dropping two games over the weekend. December will feature a tough schedule for the Eagles, as they kick off a northern road trip on Dec. 13 against Spruce Grove.
