After starting their 2013-14 Alberta Junior Hockey League season with three victories in their first four games, the Canmore Eagles have fallen on tough times of late as they wrapped up the first quarter of their 60-game 2013-14 AJHL schedule with a disappointing 5-2 loss to the Drayton Valley Thunder on Friday night in Drayton Valley.
With the loss, the Eagles now sport a record of 6-9 and have won just three times in their past 10 games. For Drayton Valley, it was just their third victory in 14 games this season.
Austen Hebert (3rd) and Simon Philp (6th) had the Eagle goals, while rookie goaltender Ryan Ferguson took the loss stopping 29 of the 34 Drayton Valley shots. The Eagles went 0-3 on the powerplay.
The injury bug has hit the Eagles hard as forwards Luke Simpson, Nils Moser, Lane Olson all missed the game, as did defenceman Jakob Lavoie.
Canmore will continue their three-game Northern Division road trip with a game Saturday night against the Grande Prairie Storm (7-7-1) and a Sunday afternoon in Whitecourt against the Wolverines (9-5-2).
NOTEBOOK: With 12 points, Canmore still holds down 5th-place in the tightly bunched AJHL Southern Division standings. Canmore is just two points behind the third-place Drumheller Dragons, but just two points ahead of the eighth-place Calgary Canucks . . . The Canucks shocked the mighty Brooks Bandits on Friday night by defeating the defending Canadian JR. A champs 5-2 in Calgary.
