PHOTO: Canmore's Matt Forchuk is just three points back of the AJHL scoring title as the Eagles prepare to go to Okotoks for a game against the Oilers on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Pam Doyle)
UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, Feb. 12 – Canmore at Okotoks – 7 PM
Saturday, Feb. 13 – Calgary Canucks at Canmore – 7 PM
Monday, Feb. 15 – Calgary Mustangs at Canmore – 2 PM
With just 10 regular season games remaining in their 2015-16 Alberta Junior Hockey League schedule, the Canmore Eagles aspirations of claiming home-ice advantage for the opening round of the upcoming playoffs will be on line this weekend.
With three key games against three different Southern Division rivals set for the Family Day Long Weekend, a successful weekend by the Eagles would certainly go a long way to securing a fourth-place finish in the AJHL Southern Division standings.
The Eagles (21-24-5) currently sit in fourth-place, two points up on the fifth-place Drumheller Dragons. The Eagles also enjoy a game in hand on the Dragons.
Canmore will start their long weekend with a game in Okotoks on Friday night against the third-place Oilers (28-22-2), before hosting the sixth-place Calgary Canucks (18-30-3) on Saturday night and the eighth-place Calgary Mustangs (10-39-3) on Monday afternoon.
“We had a pretty good weekend last weekend when we picked up three out of a possible four points on the road, so we just need to keep the positivity going forward,” confirmed Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “Four of our next five games are on home-ice, so it’s a perfect opportunity for us to regain our confidence and put some points up in the standings. We obviously would like to start the playoffs on home-ice, so this weekend’s three games are very important step in achieving that goal.”
In their five previous meeting against the Okotoks Oilers this season, the Eagles have two wins and three losses.
NOTEBOOK: Saturday night’s home game against the Calgary Canucks is being sponsored by Lafarge and will feature a guaranteed 50-50 jackpot of at least $500 to the lucky winner . . . .There will be a free “Skate with the Eagles” opportunity for all fans immediately following Monday afternoon’s game against the Calgary Mustangs. The hour-long skate will take place from approximately 4:45 to 5:45 pm., so be sure to bring your skates.. . . The Eagles continue to own the AJHL top powerplay with 68 goals on 269 opportunities for a 25% conversion rate. . . Eagle forward Matt Forchuk is just three points back of first-place in the AJHL scoring parade. Forchuk has 64 points in 49 games played.