PHOTO: If the Eagles are to be successful in the first round of the playoffs, they will have to solve Oiler netminder Nic Reynard who was recently named as the AJHL’s Most Valuable Player.
The Canmore Eagles have finished their 2014-15 Alberta Junior Hockey League regular season in sixth place in the Southern Division standings and will now face the third-place Okotoks Oilers in the first round of the playoffs.
The opening round of the playoffs is a best-of- five affair with the first two games to be played in Okotoks on Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6.
Game Three will be played in Canmore on Sunday, March 8 at 5 PM and Game Four, if necessary, would also be played in Canmore on Monday, March 9 at 7 PM. Game Five, if necessary would revert back to Okotoks on Wednesday, March 11.
On paper, the Eagles have to be rated as heavy underdogs to the Oilers.
The Oilers finished the regular season with a record of 38-16-6 for 82 points, while Canmore finished with a record of 27-31-2 for 56 points. In their six games played against each other, the Oilers won the series five games to one and outscored the Eagles by a 25-14 margin.
The Oilers are strong defensively and are led by goaltender Nic Renyard, who was recently named as the AJHL’s Most Valuable Player.
Since being acquired from the Victoria Grizzlys of the BCHL in late September, Renyard has posted a record of 30-8-3 for the Oilers and recorded five shut-outs. In 60 regular season games, the Oilers have allowed just 156 goals to be scored against them. In contrast, the Eagles have allowed 230 goals.
Offensively, the Eagles have scored 194 goals this season while the Oilers have scored 183.
Special team play was relatively equal between the two clubs as the Eagles scored 57 powerplay goals on 280 attempts for a conversion rate of 20.36%. The Oilers scored 54 powerplay goals on 272 opportunities for a conversion rate of 19.85%.
NOTEBOOK: If you are a current season ticket holder and you would like to retain your season tickets for the playoffs, please contact John Ross at marketing@canmoreeagles.com. asap. Season ticket holders will have until Wednesday, March 4 to claim their seats for the upcoming playoffs.
Advanced ticket sales for the general public for Game 3 in Canmore will be available for purchase at the Eagle ticket counter at the Canmore Recreation Centre during the following hours:
Thursday, March 5 – 11:30-1pm
Saturday, March 7 – 2-6 pm
Sunday, March 8 – 2 pm onwards
Playoff ticket prices are $18 for adults (18-60), $15 for seniors (60+) and students (12-17) and $10 for children 11 and under.