PHOTO: Eagle forward Deryk Sutherland (centre) scored his first goal as an Eagle last night to help Canmore claim a 5-0 victory in Drumheller. (Julie Wilson photo)
UPCOMING HOME GAMES
Saturday, Feb. 14 – Calgary Mustangs – 7 PM
Monday, Feb. 16 – Drumheller Dragons – 2 PM
The Canmore Eagles received goals from five different players and Ryan Ferguson recorded his first shut-out of the season to lead the Eagles to a 5-0 victory over the Drumheller Dragons in Alberta Junior Hockey League action played Friday night in Drumheller.
The game marked the end of a very difficult five-game road trip over an eight-day stretch that saw the Eagles travel to Bonnyville, Lloydminster, Camrose, Brooks and Drumheller – a 2,700 km odyssey.
With the victory, the Eagles improved their overall record to 24-28-2 and have pulled to within three points of catching the fifth-place Olds Grizzlys in the AJHL Southern Division standings. The Grizzlys and the Eagles have six regular season games remaining on their schedules including a head-to-head meeting in Canmore on Friday, Feb. 27.
Joe Serpico (14th), Lane Olson (8th), Deryk Sutherland (1st), Connor Wilson (22nd) and Jeremy Gordon (4th) had the Eagle goals last night, while Ryan Ferguson stopped all 39 Dragon shots and was named the Eagles “Star of the Game”.
Special team play was big for Canmore as the Eagles scored on 1 of their 2 power-play opportunities, and successfully killed all four minor penalties called against them.
“We played a complete game tonight with text book execution,” said Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne, whose team emerged from their tough five game road trip with a record of 2-3. “The boys played a good road game from top to bottom and did a lot of little things well tonight. The coaching staff has always had confidence in our team and when they play the right way, good things are going to happen. Hopefully the boys will agree with us.”
Although happy with the victory, there is no rest for the Eagles as they will play two more home games this weekend beginning Saturday night (7 PM) against the Calgary Mustangs and ending Monday afternoon against the Drumheller Dragons (2 PM).
The Mustangs (18-32-4) are playing their best hockey of the season right now going 6-3-1 in their last ten games and come to Canmore riding a four-game winning streak. As a result of their inspired play, the Mustangs have now passed the Calgary Canucks to secure seventh place, and a playoff spot, in the AJHL Southern Division standings.
“Saturday’s game should be a very entertaining affair,” said Milne. “Both teams really need the points in the standings and the Mustangs have been one of the hottest teams in the AJHL recently. It will be nice for us to finally get a game back on home ice and hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”
NOTEBOOK: The Eagles will be holding a free “Skate with the Eagles” promotion immediately following Monday afternoon’s game with Drumheller. Please bring your skates, cameras and autograph book and enjoy a skate with the boys.