PHOTO – Canmore's Simon Philp had a pair of goals on Tuesday night to help the Eagles to a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Canucks. (photo courtesy of Julie Wilson)
Simon Philp had a pair of goals to lead the Canmore Eagles to a 3-1 road victory over the Calgary Canucks in Alberta Junior Hockey League action on Tuesday night before a small crowd of just 128 fans at the Max Bell Arena.
Last night’s game was a make-up game for both clubs as their original game scheduled for Dec. 2 was cancelled due to poor road conditions.
The victory improves the Eagle’s regular season record to 24-17-3 and helps erase the pain associated from last week’s disappointing 4-3 road loss to the same Canucks.
With the two points earned in the standings, the Eagles currently sit in fourth-place in the AJHL’s Southern Division standings with 51 points, just two points behind the second-place Okotoks Oilers and Drumheller Dragons who are both tied at 53 points.
Philps, who played just 15 games for the Eagles last season while recovering from painful hip surgery, is having a strong rebound season as the 19-year-old Canmore native now has 16 goals and 28 points in just 43 games played this season.
Bryan Arneson had the other Eagle goal (9th), while rookie goaltender Ryan Ferguson stopped all but one of the 22 Canuck shots directed his way to improve his record to an impressive 17-8-2. The Eagles outshot the Canucks by a 28-22 margin. Connor Wilson and Trey Phillips both chipped in with a pair of assists.
The Eagle’s next two games are also on the road as they will face the Olds Grizzlys (18-20-7) in Olds on Friday, Jan. 17 and the Calgary Mustangs (18-20-5) in Calgary on Tuesday, Jan. 21. (The game against the Mustangs was orginally scheduled for Wednesday Jan. 22 but has been re-scheduled to Tuesday, Jan. 21)
The Eagle’s next home action is on the Jan. 24-25 weekend when they host the Drumheller Dragons on Friday night and then entertain the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Saturday night.
NOTEBOOK: The Canmore Eagles would like to thank everyone for their support of last weekend's Town Party event at the Radisson Hotel. The club raised $20,000 from the event through ticket sales, silent auctions and raffle draws. Special thanks to Shannon Pauls for organizing the event. . . With last night's victory, the Eagles have now matched their win total from last season when they finished the season at 24-30-6.
