Insinger hat trick has Eagles flying high
Bryson Insinger scored a natural hat trick and the Canmore Eagles scored a 4-2 victory over the Drumheller Dragons to come within one victory of scoring their first trip to the Alberta Junior Hockey League championship series.
Canmore scored two goals in the first period of Tuesday’s (April 7) game – after scoring three in the first period of each of the previous two games – and built a 4-0 lead in the third period, which was the final score of Game 2.
Canmore won the opening game of the series 5-4 in overtime. The Eagles are now one win away from reaching the AJHL championship series, something the franchise has never done in its 30-year history.
Hudson Landmark (5th goal) opened the scoring 3:01 into the contest when he batted the puck into the net during a goal crease scramble.
Insinger (5) scored his first of the game at 12:15 of the first period, slipping the puck into the goal off the backhand as he was set in free on goal by defenceman Reid Larson’s pinpoint pass.
The teams played a scoreless second period.
Insinger (6) extended Canmore’s lead to 3-0 at 10:27 of the third period and completed his hat trick with a long shot into the empty net at 16:29.
Drumheller would rally to make for an interesting conclusion to the contest. Sullivan Humeniuk (1) scored at 16:51, ending a scoreless string of 125 minutes 42 seconds for the Dragons. Bradley Gallo (3) would add a second goal at 18:17.
A Drumheller power play in the final minute made for a nervy ending to the game as the Dragons pulled their goaltender once again and had a six-on-four skater advantage.
Canmore prevailed and has put Drumheller in need for posting four consecutive victories to keep its championship hopes alive. The Dragons have fallen at this stage of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons – both times it would be to the eventual AJHL champion Calgary Canucks.
Drumheller has outshot Canmore in all three games and had a 34-24 advantage in Tuesday’s clash. Canmore netminder Alex Scheiwiller (7-1, 2.59, .929) has featured in all nine of the Eagles’ playoff games. Sean Cootes (4-6, 3.08, .910) was back between the posts for his 10th playoff start for the Dragons after being pulled in the first period of Saturday’s loss.
Canmore’s power play has struggled this playoff season with just five goals in 34 chances (14.7%) entering the contest but scored on the first two chances it had in Tuesday’s win and finished 2-for-5. The Eagles’ penalty kill, which was performing at just 69.7 per cent, having surrendered 10 goals in eight games, was also much better as the Dragons went 0-for-4 on power plays.
Insinger’s three-goal performance gives him an AJHL-leading seven goals in these playoffs and ties him with linemate Will Lutic for the most points, each with 12. Lutic has five goals and extended his playoff scoring streak to eight games with his seventh assist on Insingers’s second goal.
The third member of the forward line is Easton Milne, who has 10 points (3G-7A) after earning two assists in Tuesday’s win to extend his points’ streak to five consecutive games. The 17-year-old is also the leading rookie scorer in the playoffs and tied for third overall.
John Szabo also extended his points scoring streak to five games (1G-4A) with an assist on Landmark’s goal. The Eagles’ captain now has six points (1G-5A).
Larson finished with two assists in the victory and has five points in these playoffs (1G-4A).
Game 4 of the series goes Wednesday (April 8) at the Drumheller Memorial Arena, beginning at 7 p.m.
Wolverines 2 at Storm 4
Playing at Bonnetts Energy Centre, where they won 23 of 27 regular-season games, hometown Grande Prairie took a 2-1 series lead over visiting Whitecourt, the No. 1 seed in the North Division.
Ethan Kronewitt scored his first two goals of the playoffs, with the second into an empty net with 38 second remaining.
The opposing goaltenders have been the stars of this series with Grande Prairie’s Leland Gill (6-1, 2.04, .924) making 24 saves and Whitecourt’s Elliott Pratt (5-3, 2.03, .934) blocking 36 shots.
Game 4 is in Grande Prairie on Wednesday.
The Eagles’ schedule:
Game 1 – Drumheller 4 at Canmore 5 OT
Game 2 – Drumheller 0 at Canmore 4
Game 3 – Canmore 4 at Drumheller 2
(Canmore leads series 3-0)
Game 4 – Canmore at Drumheller, Wednesday, April 8 (Drumheller Memorial Arena, 7 p.m.)
(if necessary)
Game 5 – Drumheller at Canmore, Friday, April 10 (Canmore Recreation Centre, 7 p.m.)
Game 6 – Canmore at Drumheller, Sunday, April 12 (Drumheller Memorial Arena, 2 pm.)
Game 7 – Drumheller at Canmore, Tuesday, April 14 (Canmore Recreation Centre, 7 p.m.)
OVERTIME: Playoff tickets are on sale on the Canmore Eagles website. canmoreeagles.ca/tickets. … You can also follow the Canmore Eagles at home and on the road throughout the playoffs with your local broadcast team – Russ Ullyot (play-by-play) and Zach Amin (analyst) – at flohockey.tv. … The Eagles are in need of more volunteers to help with game day experiences, email info@canmoreeagles.com for more information on opportunities and perks that come with being part of the Game Day Crew.
Story by Russ Ullyot
