Daoust’s Big Game

Daoust’s big game
The Canmore Eagles continue to hold onto top spot in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with two wins in three games last week.
Canmore posted a pair of lopsided wins – 9-2 over the Olds Grizzlys and 7-1 over the Devon Xtreme – around its most lopsided loss in nearly three months, 6-2 to the Camrose Kodiaks. The Eagles are now 28-10-4-1 for 61 points and hold first overall as the South Division leaders.
Having the most impressive game this past week for Canmore was Cohen Daoust, who recorded a six-point game against Olds. His one goal and five assists test the memory of every Eagles’ historian wondering if that is an individual team record without the early years’ game sheets available. Luckily for the league database, Warren McCutcheon registered 8 points in February 2003 against Crowsnest past.
Daoust’s performance though has to rate quite highly as what is available suggests the St. Alberta native, in his second year with Canmore, tied a five-assist game that Matt Forchuk had on Dec. 10, 2016 versus the Drumheller Dragons. While there seems to be plenty of five-point games by Eagles dating back as far as the 2005-06 season (the last available recorded information) the single goal he scored puts him over the top of all those players.
The most points in a single AJHL game belongs to Ron Rose of the Drumheller Dragons with nine (3G-6A) against The Pass Red Devils on March 9, 1975. The most points in a single game this season belongs to Bowden Singleton of the Calgary Canucks at seven (3G-4A) set on Dec. 22, 2024 versus the Grande Prairie Storm.
It should be safe to say that there still is plenty of elevated performances to come for this 2006-born Eagle, who has two more years of junior A eligibility. His previous game highs are four, two-point games in 85 games with Canmore. Daoust would add a goal in the win over Devon to improve to 23 points (11G-12A) on the season.
Canmore leads second-place Calgary Canucks (27-11-2-1) by three points in the race for the South Division title. Despite beating Canmore on home ice, third place Camrose (24-12-2-3) has fallen eight points behind the Eagles.
The Whitecourt Wolverines (27-10-2-2) hold onto the lead in the North Division, with 58 points nine better than second-place Grande Prairie (23-12-1-2).
Canmore improved its road record to a league-best 13-6-3-1 with the week’s results. The team has 11 games remaining in its 54-game regular-season schedule. This week, the Eagles head to Drumheller – 23-16-2-0 for 48 points and fourth in the South – on Friday, Feb. 7 and host the Fort McMurray Oil Barons – 19-20-2-1 for 41 points and fourth in the North – on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m. at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
Eagles 9 at Grizzlys 2
Daoust’s six-point game on Tuesday (Jan. 28) began with two assists and a goal in the first period as the Eagles scored seven times. Scoring twice in the period were Nathan MacPherson-Ridgewell (5th and 6th goals of the season) and Kayden Rawji (15th & 16th) with Will Lutic (4), Bryson Insinger (3) getting in on the goal parade. Daoust (11) would round out the period scoring.
Goals by Owen Jones (17) and Adian Tkachuk (7) had the Eagles out to a 9-0 lead by 4:11 of the second period. Olds would score twice in the middle frame as Jonathan Doucette (9) and Michael Albert (2) found the net.
Fifteen players got on the scoresheet for Canmore with Daoust, obviously, leading the way. Jones finished with one goal and two assists while Tkachuk and Lutic added assists to their goal scoring exploits. Rhett Dekowny finished with two helpers.
Canmore outshot Olds 50-19 with 22 of those shot coming in the first period. Hudson Sedo was in goal for the Eagles. Ben Dardis started for Olds going just nine minutes and 20 seconds – giving up four goals on 13 shots – before being replaced by Connor Johnson for the remainder of the game.
On the power play, Canmore continued to excel going 2-for-5 while Olds was 1-for-3.
Eagles 2 at Kodiaks 6
There must be something in the water – or maybe the pregame meal – as Canmore lost for the third time in three games in Camrose on Saturday (Feb. 1).
Canmore took an early 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal by Dekowny (19) but then were chasing the game the remainder of the night.
Spencer Master (10) would tie the game with 95 seconds left in the first period. That was followed by four goals by the Kodiaks in the second period: Tavis Beagle (2) and Dylan Bidyk (4) were followed by two from Tyson Murray (7 & 8).
Ethan Look (17), who saw his four-game road scoring streak snapped on Tuesday, got back on the scoresheet Friday for Canmore’s second goal early in the third period. Bowen Grycan (13) would round out the scoring for the Kodiaks later in the period.
Canmore outshot Camrose 45-21. Sedo started the game and played the first two periods, giving up five goals on 16 shots. Leif Oaten, an affiliate player from the Edge School, took over in the third period and made four saves on five shots. Wilson Maxfield was in goal for Camrose, and made some big saves early in the contest – the Eagles had 20 shots in the first period – as the Kodiaks sorted out their game.
On the power play, Canmore was 1-for-6 and Camrose was 0-for-2.
The two teams meet once more this season, March 7 in Canmore, where the Eagles have won both games.
Eagles 7 at Xtreme 1
Canmore scored quickly and then often on Sunday (Feb. 2) routing expansion Devon and sweeping the four-game regular-season series.
MacPherson-Ridgewell (7 & 8) had his second two-goal, first period of the week, with Christian Luke (2) and Keifer Miller (2) making it 4-0 for Canmore after one period.
Rawji (17) and Look (18) scored in the second period.
Malcom Bear (15) would put Devon the board with just under seven minutes left to play, followed by Josh Cleary (7) rounding out the scoring with 13 seconds remaining.
Canmore’s dominance in the shot department continued, outshooting Devon 47-35 with Sedo in goal for the Eagles. Preston Lewis started for Devon, giving up three goals on 12 shots before being pulled for Koen Tyson, appearing in his first game for the Xtreme after starting the season with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
On the power play, Canmore went 1-for-4 while Devon was 0-for-2.
The notebook
Canmore was without goaltender Alex Scheiwiller for the weekend as he was called up by the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League, where he appeared in relief in two WHL games, playing 57 minutes and giving six goals on 28 shots.
Cole Wadsworth has been sent home during his recovery from a second serious shoulder injury. He is expected to make a return to the Eagles lineup, but the timeline has not been finalized.
Dekowny holds onto third place in league scoring with 47 points (19G-28A) followed in fourth by Jones at 46 points (17G-29A). Rawji is tied for sixth with 42 points (17G-25A).
Dekowny recorded 20 points (7G-13A) in nine January games, including five two-point games, two three-point games and a four-point (1G-3A) game. He was held off the scoresheet only once.
Also for January’s nine games, Jones finished with 15 points (5G-10A) and Rawji finished with 14 points (6G-9A).
Look is averaging a point-per-game over his last 14 games (7G-7A), dating back to Dec. 15, 2024.
Black has 20 points (6G-14A) in the 20 games he has played since returning to the Eagles on Nov. 29, 2024.
MacPherson-Ridgewell’s four goals in two games over the weekend doubled his previous output of four in 31 games. The 2004-born forward has seven points (5G-2A) in his last six games.
Lutic has 10 points (4G-6A) in nine games since joining the Eagles on Jan. 10.
Miller has six points (3G-3A) in six games since joining Canmore on Jan. 18. He has been held off the scoresheet just once and enters this week with having recorded his first multi-point game (1G-1A) in the win over Devon.
Luke’s goal on Sunday, his second of the season, was his first in 20 games.
Keston Beagle remains the lone Canmore skater without a goal, although he recorded his second two-assist game in 34 appearances in Sunday’s victory – his first came on opening night. The second-year defenceman has six assists this season. He had one goal and no assists in 30 games last season.
Despite two more wins on his resume, Sedo has slipped to sixth in AJHL goaltending leaders with a 2.42 goals-against average. The rookie as an 11-4-1 record with a .918 save percentage.
Canmore is second in overall power play at 20.7 per cent. They take on the league leaders in that department, Drumheller at 21.9 per cent, on Friday, Feb. 7. The Eagles have 41 power-play goals and the Dragons have 42 extra-man goals, with 30 of those coming on home ice.
In penalty killing, Canmore is third at 86.5 per cent behind Calgary (90.4%) and Whitecourt (86.8%). The three teams are also the least penalized in the league with the Wolverines shorthanded 136 times, the Canucks shorthanded 146 times and the Eagles shorthanded 163 times.
Canmore has climbed to second in the goals-for department after languishing in the bottom half for the first half of the season. The Eagles have scored 151 goals – Calgary leads with 176 – averaging a fourth-best 3.51 per game.
On the defensive side, Canmore is second-best, allowing just 106 (2.47 per game) this season, behind Whitecourt (95 allowed, 2.32 per game).
As for player streaks:
Jones has 20 points (7G-13A) in his last nine home games;
Dekowny has 18 points (6G-12A) in his last nine home games including an active five-game, eight assists streak;
Dekwony saw his seven-game overall points streak come to end when he failed to register a point in Devon on Sunday;
Look has nine points over his last seven road games.
EAGLES NEST: Canmore Eagles 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. … The second Banff Fenlands Recreation Centre contest is Tuesday, Feb. 11 with the Lloydminster Bobcats the opposition. The attendance at November’s game in Banff – a 2-1 win by Canmore over Calgary – was 1,072.
Russ Ullyot