EAGLE’S NEXT GAME – SAT. JAN. 19 IN FORT MCMURRAY
EAGLE’S NEXT HOME GAME – FRI. JAN. 25 VERSUS CAMROSE
The Canmore Eagles extended their current winning streak to eight games on Thursday night as they defeated the home town Calgary Canucks by a 3-2 score in Alberta Junior Hockey League action.
Luke Simpson (15th), Riley Point (10th) and Steven Phee (18th) had the Eagle goals, while goaltender Ty Swabb picked up his second straight victory since returning from an ankle injury stopping 15 of the Canuck’s 17 shots. Canmore outshot the Canucks by a 26-17 margin and limited the Canucks to just two shots in the game’s final 25 minutes of play.
The win improves the Eagle’s overall record to 18-19-5, and their 41 points helps solidify their fifth-place position in the AJHL Southern Division standings. The Canuck’s remain in last-place in the Southern Division with a record of just 14-28-3 and 31 points.
“It wasn’t that long ago when we were in last place, so it feels good to be finally making our move up the standings,” said Eagle Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “Tonight was a win, and that's it. The Max Bell Arena is a hard place to play and difficult to create emotion and energy. Our guys are playing well lately and tonight we found a way to win. Our power-play needs to improve if we are going to continue to win games, so we'll take some time to work on it, and then head up to Fort McMurray and deal with another tough building to play in.”
The Eagles will now hit the road play for a game in Fort McMurray on Sat. Jan. 19 and then on to Drumheller for a key match-up against the fourth-place Dragons next Wednesday Jan. 23. The Eagle’s next home game is Friday, Jan. 25 against arch-rival Camrose.
NOTEBOOK: Eagle captain Riley Point celebrated his 200th game in an Eagle uniform last night . . Luke Simpson continues to hold a hot stick as the Canmore native has 9 points in his last six games, including five goals in his last four games . . . The Eagle’s played last night’s game without the services of forwards Simon Philp, Jordon Revie, Austen Hebert, Nils Moser and defenceman Nikolas Kosman. . . Canmore is now just seven points behind the fourth-place Drumheller Dragons and enjoy two games in hand. The two teams will play each other four times in the next five weeks.. . .The Eagle’s annual Awards Banquet has been scheduled for Saturday, March 2 at the Canmore Golf and Country Club. The Eagles will wrap up their regular season on Friday, March 1 with a home game against the Calgary Canucks.
PHOTO: EAGLE CAPTAIN RILEY POINT CELEBRATED HIS 200TH GAME IN AN EAGLE SWEATER LAST NIGHT BY SCORING A GOAL IN THE EAGLE'S 3-2 VICTORY.
Photo courtesy of Julie Wilson