EAGLE’S NEXT GAME – Wed. Jan. 23 at Drumheller
EAGLE’S NEXT HOME GAME – Fri. Jan. 25 versus Camrose
Sunday, Jan. 20 – All good things must come to an end.
Such is the case for the Canmore Eagles as they saw their eight-game Alberta Junior Hockey League winning streak snapped last night falling 4-0 to the Fort McMurray Oil Barons before 1,583 spectators in Fort McMurray.
After spending an unscheduled Friday night in Edmonton due to closed highways heading north to Fort McMurray, the Eagles spent another six hours on the bus Saturday afternoon and got off to a slow start as the Oil Barons jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead and never looked back.
Canmore actually outshot the Oil Barons by a 34-32 margin on the night but couldn’t solve Oil Baron netminder Tanner Jaillet.
“Tonight we got off to a poor start and that cost us,” said Eagle Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “We actually played pretty well after the first, generated plenty of high quality chances, but we just couldn’t find the back of their net. We were up against a pretty good goalie tonight. The eight-game winning streak was a great experience for us because it has given us the confidence that we can beat anybody in the AJHL, on any given night. But we also have to realize that other teams will be gunning for us now, and we’d better be prepared to play every night. No one is under estimating the Canmore Eagles anymore.”
Canmore netminder Ty Swabb, playing in his third consecutive game since returning from a high ankle sprain injury, made several outstanding saves for the Eagles and was named the Eagle's “Star of the Game”. With the loss, Swabb's overall record drops to 7-3-2.
Last night’s game also marked the end of inter-divisional games for the Eagles as they will not face another AJHL Northern Division team again this regular season. Canmore enjoyed a great season against their Northern Division counterparts recording victories over every team except the Oil Barons.
With the loss, the Eagle’s overall record drops to 18-20-5 and they find themselves alone in fifth-place in the AJHL Southern Division standings with 41 points. Canmore trails the fourth-place Drumheller Dragons by nine points, but enjoy three games in hand on the Dragons. The two teams will meet Wednesday night in Drumheller.
The Eagles have just nine home games remaining this season.
NOTEBOOK: The Eagles played last night’s game two players short as forwards Simon Philp, Connor Wilson, Kyle Pauls, Austen Hebert and defenceman Nikolas Kozman didn’t make the trip north . . .The Eagles have played just 43 games this season, the fewest in the AJHL to date and seven less game than the sixth-place Olds Grizzlys. . . .The Canmore Eagle’s fan bus to Camrose on the Feb. 1-2 weekend is confirmed as a GO! There are still plenty of seats available on the bus, so please contact Myra Stevens at brimy@telus.net for further details.