The Drumheller Dragons snapped the Canmore Eagles’ three-game win streak Tuesday night, pushing the Canmore club to two games below .500 before the holiday break.
Joe Serpico had the lone goal for the Eagles in a 3-1 loss. It was his fifth goal in five games, 10th of the year and 18th point in the last 19 games, but the rest of the offence couldn’t catch a break, Tuesday (Dec. 16). Canmore outshot the Dragons 39-32, but without leading scorer Ryley Risling in the lineup, the Eagles were missing their game breaker.
“We played a strong game tonight,” said head coach and general manager Andrew Milne. “They got some lucky breaks on their goals and we didn’t get any bounces when we were on offence. We had plenty of chances to score and threw a lot of pucks on their net, but it wasn’t our night for puck luck.”
Again, the Eagles’ beat-up defence was under pressure all night. Missing their top three defenders, the Eagles have struggled to reach .500. With games against the Calgary Mustangs (Dec. 19) and Grande Prairie Storm (Dec. 20) left before the holiday break, the Eagles record sits at 16-18-1.
“They came after our back end and we created their goals. (Jeremy) Gordon falls on a powerplay to give them a three-on-one, Sutherland turns the puck over to give them a short breakaway … we’ve got to tighten up our back end. Giving up 30 shots a night isn’t working for us,” Milne said.
The offence generated several quality chances, though, and Milne isn’t worried about the one-goal effort.
“Offence has never been something we’ve struggled with. Revie, Wilson, Serpico and Philp were all good. When we get Kosman, Mumby and Lavoie back, we’ll play less in our end. They’re first pass type players and not to make excuses, but they would have been a contributing factor,” Milne said.
Heading into this weekend’s games, Milne said there are four points the Eagles would desperately like to put in the bank. The Eagles have improved their record in December thanks to an easier schedule against several sub-.500 teams.
They hope to have Risling and defencemen Griffin Mumby, Nik Kosman and Jakob Lavoie back in the lineup after the holiday break to propel them up the standings. They’re currently sitting sixth in the AJHL southern division, five points behind the Olds Grizzlys.
Mumby and Risling are currently logging heavy minutes for Team Canada West, while Kosman and and Lavoie are still nursing injuries.
“We said after December we wanted to be in a good spot. If we win those two games, we’re .500 and then the troops arrive,” Milne said. “We won three in a row before this and (Tuesday) night was a good game.”
Ryan Ferguson started his 18th consecutive game for the Eagles, but Levi Nelson might be available this weekend to start.
Milne is meeting with his players before the holiday break, giving them each tasks to focus on in hopes of a strong run in the new year. He’s confident the Eagles have the talent to compete with the best in the AJHL when healthy, but the squad needs more wins to prove that.
The puck drops Friday at 7 p.m. against the Mustangs.
