NEXT HOME GAME – Tuesday, Feb. 5 versus Drumheller
Thanks to some spectacular play by goaltender Ty Swabb, the Canmore Eagles extended their home ice winning streak to seven games last night defeating the visiting Calgary Mustangs 3-2 in sudden-death overtime before 430 fans at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
Swabb stopped 50 of 52 Mustang shots to register his fifth victory in six starts since returning from an ankle injury that kept him out of the lineup for two months. The Eagles fired 38 shots on Mustang netminder Travis Beekhuizen, who was equally brilliant between the pipes. Both netminders were named their team’s “Star of the Game”.
Bryan Arneson, a former Mustang earlier this season, had two goals (11th & 12th) for the Eagles including the overtime winner, while Luke Simpson picked up his 17th goal of the year to round out the Eagle's scoring.
“We weren’t a very sharp hockey team tonight, but sometimes your goalie wins you a game and Swabb did that for us tonight,” said Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne, of his netminder who is now 10-3-2 on the season. “We were outshot 22-7 in the second period and he kept us in there and gave us a chance to win.”
The Eagles were also very fortunate last night as referee Jeff Dasilva disallowed two Mustang goals in the third period.
With the victory, the Eagles enjoyed a great month in January posting a record of 9-2 and have won 11 of their past 13 games. Their overall record is now 21-21-5.
As they head into the month of February, the fifth-place Eagles have their sights set on trying to catch the fourth-place Drumheller Dragons (23-21-4) to secure home-ice advantage for at least the first round of the AJHL Southern Division playoffs which are scheduled to begin the first week of March.
The Eagles currently trail Drumheller by three points and enjoy a game in hand on the Dragons. The two teams will meet each other three times during the month of February, with two games slated for Canmore on Tues., Feb. 5 and Sat., Feb. 23. The Eagles have won all three games played against the Dragons this year.
Canmore now heads out on the road for a pair of very tough back-to-back games in Camrose this Friday and Saturday night against the second-place Kodiaks (27-17-4). This weekend’s road trip will mark the last overnight trip for the Eagles this regular season.
NOTEBOOK – Canmore has 13 regular season games remaining with six games on the road and seven slated for home ice . . .The Canmore Eagle’s fan bus is going to Camrose for this weekend’s games against the Kodiaks. If interested on jumping on board, please email brimy@telus.net for details. . . .With two assists last night, Zack Rassell moves into 11th place in AJHL League scoring with 45 points in 41 games played. . . . Stephen Phee, who has 19 goals on the season, missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury. He is not expected back anytime soon.
PHOTO: TY SWABB STOLE A GAME FOR THE EAGLES LAST NIGHT
Photo Courtesy of Julie Wilson