5 Games in 7 Nights Gets Best of Eagles
After a successful weekend trip winning two out of three games, the Eagles were right back at it as they travelled to Okotoks to take on the team they are chasing in the standings, the Okotoks Oilers. The two teams were meeting for the sixth and final time this season. The first five games were tight, with test games going to overtime. Last night though was a different story as the Eagles didn”™t have much left in them, playing their fourth game in five nights, and they fell by a score of 8-2.
“We got out skated tonight. We didn”™t have enough left in the tank. They had more jump to pucks than we did. We had a slow start and I think that uphill battle was mentally too much for our guys to overcome tonight” says Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne.
The Eagles fell behind the 8-ball right in the early stages of the game as the Oilers scored three times in the first seven minutes of the opening frame to take a 3-0 lead, before Kyle Young answered for the Eagles at 7:37 with his tenth goal of the season. Carter Myrol picked up the assist. But just before the end of the period, the Oilers regained their 3-goal lead with a tally from their leading goal scorer and NHL Draft highly touted prospect Rieger Lorenz with 17 seconds left.
In the second period, only one goal was scored as Oilers Captain Tucker McRae extended the Oilers lead to 5-1.
The Eagles were able to get another goal in the third, as defenceman Emmanuel Hudson got his fourth of the season with Vincent Scott assisting, while the Oilers got three more to confirm the victory.
Final shots were 43-15 in favour of Okotoks. Andreai Proctor-Ramirez got the start between the pipes for the Eagles, but his night was short as he was relieved by Matt Malin after the Oilers”™ third goal.
With the loss, the Eagles now find themselves trailing the Oilers by seven points for fourth place and the final home ice advantage spot with a record of 18-24-7 for 43 points. The Eagles however were able to maintain their four-point cushion over the team chasing them, the Blackfalds Bulldogs who also lost their game last night to the Drumheller Dragons.
With 11 games left to play in the regular season, the Eagles get to play in their front hometown fans again on Friday night as they host the Olds Grizzlys (5-35-5) to start off a five-game homestand, their longest of the season. On Saturday night, it will the North Division”™s Drayton Valley Thunder”™s (23-13-7) turn to come to the Canmore Rec Centre. Puck drop for both games is 7 pm.
“We will take a rest day today and get back it Thursday to prepare for the weekend”™s games says Coach Milne”.
EAGLES NEST: Canmore product Owen Jones was called up to play in last night”™s game. The 17 year-old Forward plays Midget AAA with the CFR Bisons, averaging almost a point a game, made his fourth appearance in an Eagles uniform.