Eagles grab opening win of AJHL final
Alex Scheiwiller made 45 saves and Will Lutic came through with a cutting-edge performance as the Canmore Eagles opened the Alberta Junior Hockey League championship series with a 3-1 road victory over the Whitecourt Wolverines on Friday (April 17).
Whitecourt is No. 1 in the North Division and finished the regular season with the best overall record in the AJHL to secure home-ice advantage through the playoffs and used it to their advantage in the divisional final, winning a Game 7 in overtime over the Grande Prairie Storm to reach the league’s title series.
Canmore finished first in the South Division but had 13 fewer points (81-68) and seven fewer wins (39-32) than Whitecourt over the 55-game regular season. The Eagles played like that didn’t matter at all as they looked poised in Game 1 of this series. Head Coach Andrew Milne has not deviated from the game plan that dispatched the defending national champion Calgary Canucks in six games in the first round and rolled over the Drumheller Dragons in four games in the South Division final series.
Not even when Whitecourt opened the scoring or gave a dominating second-period performance.
The Wolverines took a 1-0 lead with a man-advantage goal by Brendan Ruskowski (12th goal) at 18:44 of the first period, putting the Eagles on notice that despite the North champions looking poor on the power play these playoffs, operating at 15.9 per cent entering this series it is still pretty potent especially against an South champion penalty kill that was operating at 71.1 per cent. Lesson received and the penalty killers led by Scheiwiller’s excellence would not be beaten on the next four Whitecourt power plays, with three of those coming in the second period.
The middle period has often been Whitecourt’s best in these playoff and they tried to prove it again against Canmore firing 21 shots, but the only goal would come off the stick of the Eagles’ Hudson Landmark (7) at 6:44 tying the game at 1-1.
In the third period, which has often been the best for the Canmore, the forwards imposed themselves in this game. While the other lines grinded, Lutic, with speed, skill and grace, danced his way through Whitecourt defenders, puck seemingly on a string, with his linemates Milne and Insinger in step.
Lutic (6) would score the game winner on the power play at 1:49, snaking his way through the opposition defenders down the right-wing boards then to the front of the goal before flipping the puck off Pratt’s right shoulder into the goal.
Milne (4) would get the insurance marker at 5:49 pouncing on a puck made available to him at the right-side post after Lutic, who again darted his way through a whole host of defenders from right to left and behind the goal to the front of the goal, with his eventual shot catching Pratt under the left arm and falling to his linemate, who was alone and looking at an open net with the puck now on his stick.
Insinger was rewarded with assists on both scoring plays for being smart enough to get the puck to Lutic, who was operating on a different level than anybody else this period.
It turned a tense 1–1 defensive battle into a lead that allowed the Eagles to sit back and rely on their structure (and Scheiwiller) to close it out, putting on notice that these Eagles also want to raise the Inter Pipeline Cup and represent the league at the Centennial Cup – the national junior A championship – in May.
Whitecourt outshot Canmore 46-29. The Eagles took five of the seven minor penalties handed out in this game with each team scoring one power-play goal.
Game 2 is in Whitecourt on Saturday, April 18 beginning at 7 p.m.
The series switches to the Canmore on Tuesday, April 21, and Wednesday, April 22, with 7 p.m. start times.
The Schedule
Game 1 – Canmore 3 at Whitecourt 1
(Canmore leads series 1-0)
Game 2 – Canmore at Whitecourt, Saturday, April 18 (JDA Place, 7 p.m.)
Game 3 – Whitecourt at Canmore, Tuesday, April 21 (Canmore Recreation Centre, 7 p.m.)
Game 4 – Whitecourt at Canmore, Wednesday, April 22 (Canmore Recreation Centre, 7 p.m.)
(if necessary)
Game 5 – Canmore at Whitecourt, Saturday, April 25 (JDA Place, 7 p.m.)
Game 6 – Whitecourt at Canmore, Tuesday, April 28 (Canmore Recreation Centre, 7 p.m.)
Game 7 – Canmore at Whitecourt, Friday, May 1 (JDA Place, 7 p.m.)
OVERTIME: Canmore has won all three games played in Whitecourt this season: two during the regular season and now once in the playoffs. … Playoff tickets and 50/50 draw tickets are on sale on the Canmore Eagles website: canmoreeagles.ca. … You can also join the crowd at Patrino’s restaurant for game day watch parties or follow the Canmore Eagles at home throughout the playoffs with your local broadcast team – Russ Ullyot (play-by-play) and Zach Amin (analyst) – at flohockey.tv.
