Thomas Davis recorded the first shutout of his AJHL career, while Colton Young scored his second hat trick in two nights as the Canmore Eagles cruised to a fourth win in a row, defeating the Calgary Canucks 7-0.
The Eagles exploded with four goals in the second period to ice the penalty-filled match-up, which saw Eagles head coach and general manager Andrew Milne ejected in the first period.
“We were prepared for what they were going to bring. When things got away from us a little bit in the second, Tommy was outstanding. Everyone played well,” Milne said afterward.
Along with linemates Quinton Ong and Trevor Van Steinburg, Young ran like wildfire over the Canucks.
“We played a complete game. We allowed a lot of shots, but no second or third chances. We really played as a team today,” Young said.
Despite carrying the hot hand, Young defers credit to his teammates.
“The difference is speed and trusting what the coaches are saying to me. A lot of it is systematically set up by them. I’m just benefitting from being in the right place at the right time.”
Ong opened scoring on the powerplay in the dying seconds of the first period, while Young jumped in with an unassisted goal at the 36-second mark of the second. Young notched his second goal, followed by Ong’s second of the match. Newly minted captain Coy Prevost scored an unassisted goal of his own to end the second for a 5-0 lead.
Young completed the hat trick on the powerplay, while Travis Vervada wrapped up scoring in the final minute of the third. Davis stopped 42 shots for the shutout.
“When Tommy gets in the zone, he’s hard to break. He was definitely there tonight with his ability to see the plays. When he gets into a groove like that, you’ve got to keep him going,” Milne said.
“It was a great, all around game. I think it was our most complete game all year,” Davis said. “I definitely wasn’t happy with how my last two games had gone. I tried to stick to the same thing. I tried to help myself and go back to the basics.”
He praised his defence for ensuring he could see every shot. The St. Albert native said he hopes he may have a few more shutouts this year.
“Hopefully 50 more,” he said with a laugh. “We’re on a surge now with four wins in a row.”
The team scored 23 goals in their last four games, much to Milne’s delight.
“You look at our offence and those guys are gifted. Twenty-three goals in four games is an indication of how hard guys are working. Colton missed those first four games, and he has something to prove. There was no way Colton was going to let Alex Young outscore him,” Milne said.
The Eagles had the best offence in the league last year, and Young said it was a great learning experience.
“I definitely learned from Matt Forchuk and Logan Ferguson. Both had so much to teach me about seeing the ice, and the little things that have helped me this year,” Young said.
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Photo by Aryn Toombs