Eagles gift fans double helping of wins

The Canmore Eagles gave their ardent fans an early Christmas gift in two thrilling home-ice victories over the weekend.

Canmore moved into third place in the Alberta Junior Hockey League South Division with wins of 8-3 over the Grande Prairie Storm on Friday (Dec. 19) and 5-2 over the Drumheller Dragons on Saturday (Dec. 20).  The Eagles won four out of five home games in December with more than 3,300 fans attending the games at the Canmore Recreation Centre.

Will Lutic, freshly returned from the Junior A World Challenge, recorded eight points (4G-4A) in the three games played this past week. The Eagles lost 5-3 midweek to the Fort McMurray Oil Barons – their only December home loss.

Hudson Landmark, also a member of the Canada West team, picked up four points (2G-2A) over the three games.

Cohen Daoust, back after a short stint with the WHL Calgary Hitmen, has 10 points (3G-7A) over his past five games, moving up to eighth in league scoring race with 39 points (18G-21A). The St. Albert native had one goal and two assists in each of the weekend victories.

Bryson Insinger was held off the scoresheet on Saturday ending a seven-game points streak (6G-3A). The 19-year-old Calgary native saw his six-game, goal-scoring streak end in Friday’s victory.

The Eagles added a new defenceman to the lineup. Making his debut on Saturday was Carter Kowalyk, who played two games for the Okotoks Oilers back in the 2021-22 season. The 6-foot-5 St. Albert native spent the intervening years in the Western Hockey League, appearing in 185 games for four teams including most recently the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Canmore’s victory on Saturday was their 15th in 29 games – to go with 13 regulation time losses and one overtime defeat – and tied the team with Drumheller (13-14-11-4) on 31 points. The Eagles have played three fewer games and have a .534 winning percentage compared to the Dragons’ .484.

Camrose Kodiaks (17-12-2-0) lead the South Division on 36 points, three ahead of the Calgary Canucks (16-12-1-0).

All 12 AJHL teams are now on a Christmas break returning to action in early January 2026. Canmore will ring in a new hockey year with a pair of home games at the Canmore Recreation Centre. The Olds Grizzlys (9-19-2-1) are the guests on Friday, Jan. 2, followed by Calgary on Saturday, Jan. 3. Games times are 7 p.m.

Get the record book out for this game.

Canmore scored on each of the four shots it took in the first period. Then scored on the first shot the team took in the second period.

Lutic and Aiden Tkachuk each finished the game with two goals. Lutic also had two assists. Tkachuk would also pick up an assist to match Daoust’s three-point outing.

The first period ended 4-3 for Canmore.

The two teams traded goals through the first 11 minutes. Landmark (5th goal of the season) opened the scoring at 34 seconds. Grande Prairie’s Max Leduc (9) tied the game with a power-play effort at 3:51. Conor Watson’s first goal of the season put the Eagles back on top at 7:47. The Storm’s Matthew Gillard, also his first goal, would knot the game at 2-2 at 12:43.

A pair of power-play goals 34 seconds apart would push the Eagles out to a two-goal lead: Owen Mastroianni (4) at 11:30 and Tkachuk (12) at 12:04.

Grande Prairie wouldn’t go away and Treysen Miller (2) made it a 4-3 game at 14:46. That would be all the goals the Storm would muster this game though as Alex Scheiwiller (10-9/3.12/.914) would stop the next 38 shots he faced while the Eagles would continue to fill the net.

It would be a long and difficult night for Grande Prairie goaltender Hudson Perry (5-5/3.48/.867) who played the entirety of the game, although he faced just 15 shots.

Canmore scored twice in the each of the final two periods. Tkachuk (13), on the power play, and Lutic (8) scored in the second period.

Daoust (17) and Lutic (9) scored in the third period.

On the power play, Canmore finished 3-for-6 while Grande Prairie went 1-for-8.

Fire-breathing Dragons or sharp-taloned Eagles, who are you going to pick?

One of the best and most heated rivalries in hockey is Canmore versus Drumheller. The latest edition offered up another feisty and entertaining battle with the Eagles prevailing.

Canmore would again get just four shots on goal in the first period, scoring three times this night.

After falling behind on a power-play goal by Jase Johnstone (2), the Eagles would claw back to take a 3-1 lead by the end of the first period. Easton Milne (8) scored at 10:10, followed by Landmark (6), on the power play at 14:46, and Reid Larson (6) at 15:12.

Toss in a second period goal by Daoust (18) at 6:44 and the embers were lit for a fiery finish to this game. The referees were kept busy with 23 infractions called resulting in 13 power plays: Canmore went 1-for-7 and Drumheller was 1-for-6.

And, this was only the second meeting of the season between the two teams – the first was an opening night 5-3 Dragons’ victory in Drumheller. A game in which Bradley Gallo scored three third-period goals – he also assisted on his team’s first two goals — to rally his team.

Gallo would not be there for his team’s third period this night after getting into a second period fight with Tavynn Hamilton.

In the third period, Drumheller defenceman Tristan Payne (3) would make it a 4-2 deficit at 15:47. Lutic (10) would put the postage stamp on the winning entry with an empty net marker at 19:21.

Drumheller outshot Canmore 35-33. Hudson Sedo (5-5/3.20/.899) was in goal for the Eagles. Brandon Williams (6-5/2.97/.894) was in goal for the Dragons.

OVERTIME: The Canmore Eagles wish to apologize to fans that tuned into Flohockey this past week, technical issues meant intermittent outages during broadcasts Wednesday and Friday with a total outage occurring during Saturday’s telecast. The team is working hard to correct the issues before play resumes in the New Year. … Can’t get to a game in person, all AJHL games can be viewed with a flohockey.tv subscription. … The Canmore Eagles are always in need of more volunteers to help with game day experiences whether you are new to the game or an avid hockey supporter, email info@canmoreeagles.com for more information on opportunities and game-day perks that come with being part of the Game Day Crew.