PHOTO: Ryley Risling had his team leading 9th goal on Friday night but it wasn't enough as the Eagles lost 2-1 to the Okotoks Oilers in Okotoks. – Julie Wilson photo
NEXT HOME GAME: Bonnyville Pontiacs – Saturday Oct. 25 – 7PM
When the Canmore Eagles host the visiting Bonnyville Pontiacs tonight at the Canmore Recreation Centre in an Alberta Junior Hockey League game, they will certainly be hoping that the friendly confines of home ice will help coax their slumping offence out of hibernation.
The Eagles suffered a tough 2-1 loss to the Okotoks Oilers on Friday night in Okotoks, and as a result, they now find themselves in seventh-place in the eight team AJHL Southern Division standings with a record of 8-8.
Rookie netminder Levi Nelson had a strong game in the Canmore net, but unfortunately suffered his first loss of the season after going 2-0 in his first two AJHL starts. Both the Oilers and Eagles had 31 shots on net.
Ryley Risling, with his team leading 9th goal, had the lone Canmore goal.
Risling’s goal marked the first goal scored by an Eagle forward during the team’s past three games, a stretch that saw Canmore lose 1-0 in Drumheller (Oct. 17), and sneak out a 3-2 overtime win in Olds (Oct. 18). The Eagle power play, which was just recently regarded as one the most effective in the AJHL, has gone scoreless in their last three games, going 0 for 12.
“I don’t know what to say,” said a frustrated Eagle Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne afterwards. “We played a good road game overall, but for whatever reason, our offence and powerplay have gone cold and that’s been the difference. We wanted to shore up our defensive play and we’ve done that as we’ve only allowed 11 goals in our last five games. But unfortunately, we’ve only scored four goals in our last three games so that’s not enough to win you very many hockey games.”