PHOTO: Brett Radford had a goal and an assist to help the Eagles to a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Canucks on Tuesday night. (Photo courtesy of Julie Wilson)
NEXT GAME – Friday, December 12 @ Calgary Canucks
NEXT HOME GAME – Friday, December 19 vs Calgary Mustangs
Canmore Eagle’s goaltender Ryan Ferguson stopped 37 of 40 shots to lead his hometown Eagles to a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Canucks in Alberta Junior Hockey League action on Tuesday night at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
The victory, before a small crowd of just 344, improves the Eagle’s record to 15-17-1 while the Calgary Canucks saw their record drop to 11-19-4. The sixth-place Eagles now trail the fifth-place Olds Grizzlys (15-13-4) by three points.
Brett Radford (3rd), Jeremy Gordon (3rd), Kyle Pauls (5th) and Matt Forchuk (6th) had the Eagle goals, while both Simon Philp and Lane Olson chipped in with two assists.
As has been the case for the past three games, the Eagles played the game without the services of five starting players as leading scorers Connor Wilson and Ryley Risling, plus defenceman Griffin Mumby were in Calgary attending the Team Canada West selection camp for the upcoming World Junior A Hockey challenge. Key defenceman Nikoslas Kosman and Jakob Lavoie are also sidelined with injuries.
“Ryan Ferguson played well again and was solid when it mattered most,” said Assistant Coach and Assistant General Manager Jeremy Reich, who is filling in for Andrew Milne who is also attending the Team Canada West selection camp. “Our defensive core were warriors again last night blocking shots and playing big minutes. Our team didn’t feel sorry for themselves with the big players missing and they just gutted out another win against a team that is right behind us in the standings. Our penalty killing was once again rock solid. Now we have to get ready to fight for two points against the same team in Calgary on Friday night. We know the Canucks will be ready to even the score.”
NOTEBOOK: Eagle defenceman Brett Schimmel returned to the lineup last night after missing the previous three games with concussion symptoms . . . Eagle Coach Jeremy Reich is now an impressive 6-2-1 when acting as the Eagle’s Head Coach . . . With a goal and an assist last night, Brett Radford was the Eagle’s “Star of the Game”. . . With backup goaltender Levi Nelson sidelined since October 25 with a leg injury, Ryan Ferguson has started the past 16 straight games.