PHOTO: Eagles Braden Saretsky had a two goal night but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles fell 3-2 to Drayton Valley on Friday night – (photo courtesy of Pam Doyle)
NEXT HOME GAME
Saturday, November 21 – Sherwood Park Crusaders at Canmore – 7 PM
All good things must come to an end.
Such is the case for the Canmore Eagles as their six-game Alberta Junior Hockey League winning streak came to end Friday night as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Drayton Valley Thunder before a crowd of 519 fans at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
With the loss, the Eagles overall record fell to 15-8-2, while the Thunder improved to 11-10-4.
Braden Saretsky (6 and 7th) had both goals for the Eagles, who trailed 1-0 after the first period and 2-1 after two periods.
Eagle goaltender Ryan Bontorin allowed two goals on 24 Thunder shots and took the loss to see his overall record drop to 7-4-1. Drayton Valley also scored an empty net goal to take a 3-1 lead at the 19:24 mark of the third period before Saretsky scored with just one second remaining to once again make it a one-goal game.
“We just weren’t as sharp as we needed to be,” lamented Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “We tried to be too fancy instead of just concentrating on playing our normal game. We didn’t start the game very well and it cost us in the long run. We certainly had our chances to score but their goaltender (Jake Morrissey) made some big time saves and our guys seemed to get frustrated. Fortunately, we get to play again on Saturday night so hopefully we’ll bounce back with a better effort all around.”
The Eagles will now gear up to face the Sherwood Park Crusaders at the Canmore Recreation Centre on Saturday night. The Crusaders are enjoying a solid season posting a record of 18-6-2 and come to Canmore after downing the Okotoks Oilers 3-2 in overtime on Friday night in Okotoks.
The two teams have met each other once this season with the Eagles claiming a 5-3 victory at the AJHL Showcase Weekend in Camrose on Oct. 3.