After dropping two of three exhibition games at the Calgary Cup exhibition tournament in Calgary over the Labour Day long weekend, the Canmore Eagles will be looking to even their Alberta Junior Hockey League exhibition record to 2-2 when they host the visiting Calgary Canucks on Tuesday, September 2 at the Canmore Recreation Centre. Game time is 7 pm.
The Eagles opened their exhibition schedule with a 7-2 loss to the Calgary Mustangs on Friday (August 29) and were defeated 4-2 by the Calgary Canucks on Saturday (August 30), but rallied back on Sunday afternoon (August 31) to record their first exhibition win by defeating the Olds Grizzlys 6-3.
Despite dropping two of three games, Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne didn’t seem overly concerned with the weekend results as he utilized the tournament to fill his roster with plenty of rookie players.
“This tournament is not about wins and losses, it’s about evaluating our players who may play for us in the future,” said Milne. “I already know what our veteran players are capable of, so I wanted to see what our future prospects are capable of doing and give them an opportunity to witness the pace of Junior A hockey. There are no points awarded in the standings for exhibition games.
“We got better as the tournament went along and came up with our best effort on Sunday. It was the first game for both Nik Kosman and Griffin Mumby and both looked very good. With a couple of good weeks of practicing and a little team building, we should be in good position for our home opener on September 12. I like the direction we are going.”
Asked to identify any rookies that caught his eye, Milne indicated he was impressed with forwards Matt Forchuk and Clay Murray and defenceman Braden Biccum and Kyle Craddock.
Forchuk, Murray and Biccum all played for the Strathmore UFA Bisons last season, while Craddock played in Peace River.
NOTEBOOK: Goal scorers for the Eagles over the weekend included Connor Wilson (2), Kurt Hildebrand (2), Ryley Risling, Jeremy Gordon, Brett Schimmel, Matt Forchuk, Logan Ferguson, and Brett Radford. . . .Season ticket holders can pick up their season ticket packages prior to Tuesday’s night exhibition game in the arena lobby. . . Noah Philp, younger brother of veteran Simon Philp, attended the Kooteney Ice training camp for the past week but should rejoin the Eagles this week. . . The Eagles will open their 2014-15 regular season with a pair of back-to-back home games on the Sept. 12-13 weekend with the Whitecout Wolverines in town for Friday night followed up by Olds on Saturday night. . . Registration for the 18th annual Canmore Eagles Golf tournament at the Brewster’s Kananaskis Ranch Golf resort scheduled for Sunday, September 14 will close on Saturday, Sept. 6. The cost is just $139 per person or $500 for a 4-some and includes 18 holes of golf, power cart and deluxe Hip of Beef BBQ dinner afterwards. Contact marketing@canmoreeagles to register.
