Banged, Bruised & Brilliant

Blood, sweat and tears, as well as unbridled tenacity and you have the ingredients that the Canmore Eagles mixed into a game plan for the Drumheller Dragons on Wednesday (March 26) to get back on even terms in their Alberta Junior Hockey League playoff series.

Canmore gritted out a 3-1 victory in Game 4 of this South Division best-of-seven semifinal round event. How much more either team has left to give might be the question on many minds in what has been a fast-paced, hard-hitting, punishing series.

Owen Jones came through with the game winner in Game 4. His third goal of this series, was also his third off a shot from below the goal line. This night, the Canmore native came off the backboards on the left-wing side near the goal and fired the puck off the back of Drumheller netminder Sean Cootes. The goal, coming at 5:31 of the second period, snapped a 1-1 tie.

Aidan Tkachuk scored the third goal seven minutes later when he tapped in a cross-crease pass from Will Lutic, who dazzlingly reached behind him to collect a pass on a 2-on-1 break, swept the puck forward and fired off a bullet pass.

The game was a test in a team’s mettle, this night won by Canmore, but not without cost. Eagles’ physical therapist – trainer for those old schoolers – spent more time on the ice than some fourth line forwards, getting his wounded soldiers back on their feet and back into the fray. No one more epitomized that than Casey Black, who absorbed several torturous hits and also got clipped on the chin by the puck that required his donning three different jerseys while trying to stem the blood leaking from the wound. He donned his familiar No. 26 to begin the game, followed by a non-lettered No. 3 in the second period, and then No. 19 – with Kayden Rawji’s name bar tapped over – in the third period.

Rawji, with a lower body injury, was one of those wounded players who was unable to go on Wednesday after a similarly rambunctious Tuesday (March 26) tilt. The third-year veteran needed to be helped by teammates off the bench and to the dressing room following a 3-1 Drumheller victory.

It’s not only Eagles players getting banged up. In winning Game 3, the Dragons lost Bradley Gallo in the second period when he took a puck to the face and then Cootes had to be helped off the ice by teammates when he was bowled over by a sliding teammate, Tristan Payne, early in the third period. Both players were back in the battle Wednesday, although a stitched up Gallo did spend a good portion of the day in the dentist’s chair attending to a cracked tooth.

If there is one very identifiable flaw in Canmore’s game right now it is the inability to score on the power play. The Eagles have not scored a goal in 25 man-advantage situations. It was the deciding factor in Game 3 as Drumheller overcame a 1-0 third-period deficit with two power-play goals.

There is no denying the courage being shown by both these teams in what has become a remarkable and memorable series. The question fans might ask though is “is there going to be anything left to give for the next playoff round?” It’s an answer for another day as it most certainly appears all that matters NOW is having enough fight to win the next game.

The series now switches back to the Canmore Recreation Centre on Friday, March 2, 7 p.m., with Game 6 in Drumheller on Sunday, March 30, 2 p.m. A Game 7 would be played in Canmore on Tuesday, April 1, 7p.m.

The teams played two scoreless periods before Cohen Daoust (1st playoff goal) opened the scoring at 3:45 of the third period.

Drumheller would respond with two power-play goals, the first coming on the Dragons’ second 5-on-3 in this game. Tristan Payne (3) tied the game at 7:32 followed by Lauchlan Kozicky (1) at 10:38.

Brec Chirstenson (1) added an empty net goal at 18:41 to give Drumheller a 2-1 series lead.

Drumheller outshot Canmore 36-27 with Alex Scheiwiller in goal for the Eagles. Cootes started the game for the Dragons, and gave up one goal on 20 shots, but needed to be replaced by Matthew Kondro for the final 16 minutes. Cootes suffered what appeared to be a lower back injury when Payne crashed into him while trying to break up an Eagles scoring chance.

It’s the second time distressed Cootes has had to leave a game in this series. He left the crease in the opening minute of the second period of Game 2 after giving up a fourth goal to the Eagles in what was a 5-2 Canmore victory.

On the power play, Drumheller was 2-for-7 while Canmore was 0-for-4.

Canmore would score first again with Tavynn Schlaht (1) putting the puck in the goal just 1:38 after the opening face-off.

A stitched up and combative Gallo (2) would tie the game 9:21 into the period.

Jones (3) and Tkachuk (2) then gave Canmore a two-goal in the second period. A lead that would hold up and even the series at two wins apiece.

Canmore outshot Drumheller 24-22 with Scheiwiller, who made several heart-stopping saves to preserve the victory, battling Cootes.

One series is already in the books, as in the North, the No. 2 Grande Prairie Storm swept the No. 3 Lloydminster Bobcats posting road wins of 2-1 on Tuesday and 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday. The Storm outscored the Bobcats 21-9 over the four games.

The Storm now wait the winner of the No. 1 Whitecourt Wolverines and No. 4 Fort McMurray Oil Barons. The Wolverines have a 3-1 series lead after posting 4-1 and 4-2 victories over the MOB in their midweek clashes.

In the other South Division clash, No. 1 Calgary Canucks overcame a 5-4 loss to the No. 4 Camrose Kodiaks on Tuesday to post a 5-2 win on Wednesday and hold a 3-1 series lead.

All series resume Friday, March 28.

Canmore’s Rhett Dekowny is second in playoff scoring with seven points (2G-5A). Grande Prairie defenceman Kaiden Bugera lead all scorers with eight points (1G-7A).

Canmore, which led the league in power-play goals this season with 61, is the only team without a playoff, power-play goal while Drumheller is 4-for-22 (18.2%).

Emmanuel Hudson, a Lethbridge University student, played in Game 3 but was unavailable for Game 4. Keston Beagle saw his first action of the playoffs in place of Hudson while Hudson Landmark also saw his first playoff action in Game 4 as he drew into the lineup in Rawji’s absence. Defenceman Christian Luke has been in the stands for all four playoff games.

EAGLES NEST: Canmore Eagles’ home playoff tickets are available at canmoreeagles.ca/tickets. … If you can’t attend in person, you can watch Eagles’ games as well as the rest of the AJHL online, along with much more live and on demand hockey, through a FloSports subscription available at flohockey.tv.

Russ Ullyot