Photo – Lane Olson had the winning goal and an assist to lead the Eagles to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Brooks Bandits on Saturday night. (photo courtesy of Julie Wilson)
NEXT HOME GAME – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 – FORT MCMURRAY OIL BARONS – 7 PM
The Canmore Eagles started off the second half of their 2013-14 Alberta Junior Hockey League season on a winning note last night as the defeated the visiting Brooks Bandits 2-1 in sudden death overtime before close to 400 fans at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
Rookie forward Lane Olson scored the winning goal for the Eagles at the 3:01 mark of overtime after receiving a beautiful set-up pass from team-mate Connor Wilson to lift the Eagles to their third straight victory over the defending Canadian Junior A champions this season. The Eagle win also snapped the AJHL South Division leading Bandits (20-8-4) winning streak at six games.
Canmore, with a record of 16-13-2, is now 12-4 while playing on home ice this season.
Canmore native Kyle Pauls also scored for the Eagles, while rookie goaltender Ryan Ferguson was once again outstanding in the Eagle’s net stopping all but one of the 37 shots that the Bandits directed his way. Canmore was outshot 37-23 on the night.
The 18-year-old goaltender continues to impress as he is now 11-6-1 on the season and sports a sparkling “Goals Against Average” of just 2.37 and a “Save Percentage” of .931.
“We played a very tough game on the road Friday night (a last minute 2-1 loss to Okotoks), so I am very proud with the effort that the team displayed tonight,” said Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “Brooks really came out flying and took it to us early, but we stuck to our game plan, hung in there, battled hard, and came out with a victory over a very good hockey club. Good teams find a way to win and we did that tonight. Our penalty killing guys did an outstanding job blocking shots and keeping their top scorers to the outside. Guys like Jeremy Margeson and Jakob Lavoie really stood out on the PK. We also got goals from Pauls and Olson, just their second goals of the season, so we’re getting offensive production from everyone. It was truly a total team effort tonight. Virtually every player is contributing to our success and that’s great to see as a coach. And what can you say about Ferguson – he kept us in the game again with some amazing stops.”
Canmore’s next game is Monday night (December 2) when they head to Calgary to take on the Calgary Canucks (9-20-1) at the Max Bell Arena. In their three previous meetings this season, Canmore has won 4-3 and 2-1, but lost 5-1 to the Canucks at the AJHL Showcase Weekend on Sept. 27.
The Eagles next home game is Saturday, December 7 when the mighty Fort McMurray Oil Barons come to town. The Oil Barons are 25-2-2 this season, are ranked #1 in Canada, and have outscored their opposition by a wide 123-50 margin. Game time at the Canmore Recreation Centre is 7 PM.