PHOTO: Canmore defenceman Braiden Doucette had a goal and two assists to help the Eagles to a 5-2 road victory over the Okotoks Oilers on Saturday night. (photo courtesy of Noel Rogers)
Redemption.
Less than 24 hours after coughing up a last second goal to the Olds Grizzlys at home which allowed the Grizzlys to sneak away with a 4-3 OT victory on Friday night, the Canmore Eagles travelled to Okotoks on Saturday night and defeated the home-town Oilers 5-2.
The victory gave the Eagles three out of a possible four points over the weekend, improved their overall record to 10-7-2, and moved them into sole possession of third-place in the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Southern Division standings with 22 points.
The Eagles received goals from five different players as Kyle Pauls (5th), Braiden Doucette (6th), Adamu Tanaka (3rd), Brett Schimmel (1st) and Coy Prevost (7th) all found the back of the net. Doucette, named the Eagles “Star of the Game” and Prevost also picked up two assists to give them both three-point nights.
Canmore goaltender Ryan Bontorin stopped 27 of the 29 Okotok shots fired his way to improve his record to 5-3-1. Canmore was outshot 29-20 on the night.
“The team responded well after an average night in Canmore the night before,” said Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne, who had to be pleased to see three different defenseman score goals on the night. “We had great momentum shifts from the Kurylo (Nolan), Ashton (Jake) and Wihak (Nicholas) line – they were awesome tonight.
“Our guys needed to realize that when we work hard and play a team game, we can be pretty good. Our game plan was executed very well tonight. Our powerplay set us up for success and our defence contributed to the game both defensively and won it for us offensively.”
The Eagles next two games are scheduled for the road with games Wednesday night (Nov. 4) in Calgary against the Canucks (7-13-1) and Saturday (Nov. 7) in Drumheller against the Dragons (9-9-1).
Canmore’s next home game will be played on Tuesday, November 10 against the Calgary Canucks.
NOTEBOOK: The Eagles powerplay has come to life of late scoring three powerplay goals in Okotoks in Saturday night’s win and two powerplay goals in Friday night’s OT loss. . . The Eagles went 6-4-2 during the month of October. . . Forward Matt Forchuk, who leads the team in scoring with 26 points, had a month to remember picking up 19 points in October. Since his arrival in late September, Eagle defenceman Braiden Doucette has contributed 12 points in 14 games played, including six goals. Four of his goals have come on the powerplay.