Saturday, October 13, 2012 – Led by a two goal performance by Canmore native Luke Simpson, the Canmore Eagles improved their home record to an impressive 4-0-1 last night by defeating the visiting Lloydminster Bobcats 4-1 before 413 fans at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
With the two points gained in the Alberta Junior Hockey League Southern Division standings, the Eagles (5-3-3) now have 13 points and find themselves just two points back of the second-place Calgary Mustangs and Camrose Kodiaks. The Eagles have played two less games than both the Mustangs and Kodiaks.
Forward Paul Lamoureux and defenceman Nikolas Kosman also chipped in with single goals, their first goals of the season. Zack Rassell and Trey Phillips also contributed a pair of assists, while Eagle goaltender Ty Swabb was solid in the Eagle’s net stopping 29 of 30 Bobcat shots to improve his record to 3-2-2.
“It wasn’t our best performance of the year, but a win is a win and we’ll take it,” said Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne, whose team went 1-12 on the powerplay. “We came out strong in the first period, built up a good lead, but seemed to sag a bit in the last two periods. We need to learn to play 60 minutes and take advantage of our opportunities.”
The Eagles will now have a few days to prepare for their biggest test of the year as they await a visit from the mighty Brooks Bandits on Tuesday, October 16.
Brooks is currently the #1 ranked Junior A team in Canada and sports a perfect 10-0 early season record. The defending AJHL champions have outscored their opposition by a 57-23 margin and have connected for an incredible 24 powerplay goals.
“The Brooks game will certainly be a great test for our hockey club,” said Milne. “We better be ready to play our best game of the season.”
Game time Tuesday night at the Canmore Recreation Centre is 7 pm.
NOTEBOOK: With his two assists, Zack Rassell now has 15 points, good enough for seventh-place in the AJHL scoring parade. . .Nils Moser was a last minute scratch last night with a lower-body injury. . . Rookie defenceman Ashton McLeod continues to stick-up for his teammates as he dropped his gloves to go with Bobcat’s Justin Lund in a second-period tilt. Following the Brooks home date, the Eagles will hit the road for a tough three games in 2 ½ days. Canmore will play in Bonnyville on Friday, Oct. 19, Lloydminster on Sat. Oct. 20 and wrap up the trip with a Sunday afternoon game in Drumheller Sunday afternoon, Oct. 21.
