Photo : Sei Spo Press
Hat trick for Scott
Vincent Scott became the first Canmore Eagle this season to record a hat trick after turning the feat in a frenetic 7-5 victory over the hometown Olds Grizzlys.
In the Alberta Junior Hockey League clash Sunday (Oct. 23) in Olds, the Grizzlys appeared to have ended a seven-game losing streak when they took the lead on the Eagles with 3:05 remaining in the third period, only to see the win slip away in the final 2 ½ minutes.
After taking a 5-4 lead on a power-play goal by Tristan Baumang, Olds surrendered three goals as Owen Jones tied the game at 17:32, followed by Reed Jacobsen with the game winner at 19:28, and then the Eagles captain completed his three-goal afternoon by depositing the puck into an empty net with 19 seconds remaining.
Olds held a 2-1 lead after the first period, with Logan Neilson and Jadon Iyogun sandwiching a goal for the Eagles by Kai Billey.
Each team scored twice in the middle frame. Kyle Young and Scott scored in the opening 66 seconds to give the Eagles a brief lead. Tanner Klimpke would tie the game at 3-3 two minutes later and the Grizzlys took back the lead on a goal by Liam Hughes before the period ended.
Scott’s breakaway goal then made it 4-4 at 3:38 of the third period.
Canmore outshot Olds 38-32 with Matthew Malin in goal for the Eagles and Marek Andres between the pipes for the Grizzlys.
On the power play, Canmore was 0-for-5 while Olds was 1-for-4.
Young finished the game with four points, as he and Kayden Smith each assisted on three goals.
Canmore remains in sixth place in the South Division with a record of 7-6-1-1.
Olds has now lost eight consecutive games – two of those in overtime – after starting the season with five wins in their first eight games.
Seesaw season continues
If there is one thing the Eagles are consistent with this season it is bouncing back for a win after a loss as Sunday’s result can attest.
The weekend began with a 7-3 defeat to the Okotoks Oilers on Friday (Oct. 21). In 13 games since Sept. 20, the Eagles have rotated wins after losses but have been unable to put together back-to-back victories.
The second of successive games in Okotoks for Canmore over a six-day period, the Eagles were unable to repeat the success of Oct. 16 when they posted a 3-2 shootout victory.
On Friday, the Oilers roared out to a 5-0 first-period lead. Ty Yoder and Sam Huck each scored twice with Jagger Tapper completing the barrage. Connyr Hellyer scored in the second period and Zeth Kindrachuk scored in the third period to complete the scoring for the Oilers.
Canmore goals came from Riley Dekowny and Owen Jones in the second period, and Kai Billey in the third period.
Okotoks outshot Canmore 32-21. Andreai Proctor-Ramirez was in goal for the Eagles in the first period with Malin called in for the final two periods. Parker Sawka was the goaltender of record for the Oilers.
On the power play, Canmore was 1-for-4 while Okotoks went 2-for-5.
The Eagles now have six consecutive home games over a 15-day period giving the team its best chance this season to put together a run of wins as they are 4-2-0-1 when the home team. First up is the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in a special Wednesday (Oct. 26) feature game in Banff, 7 p.m. at the Fenlands Arena. The reverse fixture wasn’t kind to the Eagles as they lost 7-1 in Fort McMurray on Oct. 9.