NEXT GAME: Olds Grizzlys at Canmore – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 8 PM
The Calgary Canucks scored the tying goal with just under two minutes to play in regulation time and scored again at 3:27 of overtime to defeat the Canmore Eagles 3-2 in an Alberta Junior Hockey League game played Friday night at the Max Bell Arena in Calgary.
The OT loss dropped the Eagles record to 16-12-4, while the Canucks improved to 10-22-1.
Lane Olson (16th) and Braden Saretsky (11th) had the Eagle goals. Canmore goaltender Ryan Gilchrist stopped 25 of the 28 Canuck shots directed his way but took the loss to see his overall record drop to 8-4-2. The Eagles outshot the Canucks 32-28 on the night.
The Eagles now have just one win in the last eight games and are 3-5-2 in their last 10 outings.
“No question, we are in a bit of a funk right now,” said Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “We’ve had plenty of opportunities to put teams away but just haven’t capitalized on our opportunities and it has come back to bite us in the end. The only way out of this is hard work.”
Canmore will have the opportunity to get back into the win column on Saturday night (Dec. 12) when they host the Olds Grizzlys (13-16-2) at the Canmore Recreation Centre. In their last visit to Canmore on October 30, the Grizzlys defeated the Eagles 4-3 on OT. Game time on Saturday night is a special 8 PM start.
“We play our last three games of the 2015 schedule at home and we need to take advantage of it before we head off for the X-mas break,” said Milne.
NOTEBOOK: Saturday night’s home game is being billed as the “Game of Gifts”. If possible, please bring a gift for the Bow Valley Christmas Spirit Campaign. The Eagles will offer free admission to the game with a gift donation . . .With an assist last night in Calgary, Eagle forward Matt Forchuk is now just one point back of re-claiming the AJHL scoring lead with 45 points. Line-mate Lane Olson is in seventh-place with 40 points.
