Wednesday, August 29, 2012 – A point is a point, is a point!
From a positive perspective, the Canmore Eagles registered a point in the pre-season standings last night after dropping a 5-4 overtime shoot-out decision to the Calgary Mustangs in an AJHL exhibition game played before 200 spectators at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
After going pointless in their first two exhibition games and five regular season games last season, last night’s single point for the Eagles could be seen as a positive step forward.
With just six veteran players in his lineup, Eagle’s Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne went with a rookie-laden lineup for his club’s exhibition opener and was generally pleased with how his youngsters performed.
Canmore actually enjoyed a 4-2 lead and a 32-22 shot advantage at the end of the second period, but couldn’t hang on as they gave up two unanswered goals and were out-shot 13-8 in the third period.
“It was our first exhibition game of the season and provides us with a perfect opportunity to play our rookie prospects,” said Milne. “They battled hard and earned us a point in the pre-season standings. I already know what our veteran players are capable of, so we needed to find out how our younger players will react to the AJHL level of hockey. They made a few mistakes in the third period and unfortunately it cost us.”
Asked to single out any rookies that caught his eye, Milne singled out forward Dylan Houston and defencemen Aston McLeod as having “good nights”.
Steven Phee, Ciaron Driscoll and rookies Lane Olson and Houston had the Eagle goals. Goaltending prospects James Fisk played the first 30 minutes, while Ryan Ferguson played the second half. Both netminders played well in their battle to potentially earn the back-up position behind starter Ty Swabb.
The Eagles will get right back at it tonight as they head to Olds for an exhibition game against the Grizzlys.
Olds will then travel to Canmore for a rematch on Friday night, August 31. Game time at the Canmore Recreation Centre is 7 pm. Tickets for exhibition games are just $10 adults and $5 for students, seniors and children.
NOTEBOOK: Congratulations to Andrew Foster who took home last night’s 50-50 prize of $485. Eagle supporter Shannon Pauls brought a new 50-50 box square promotion to the fundraising event and it was an instant success. The new Eagle’s 50-50 promotion has 200 squares. Squares are worth $5. If all 200 squares are sold, there is a $1,000 cash prize to be split. 194 squares were sold last night. The Eagles would like to thank everyone for their support.
