PHOTO – Connor Wilson, who is tied with Trey Phillips for the Eagles scoring lead with 21 points, will have to be at his best when the Eagles take on the second-place Okotoks Oilers on Thursday night.
UPCOMING HOME GAMES
OKOTOKS OILERS – THURSDAY, NOV. 14
GRANDE PRAIRIE STORM – FRIDAY, NOV. 15
After gaining a spilt in their first two games of their current four-game home stand, the Canmore Eagles are gearing up for two more critical home games this week as they host the visiting Okotoks Oilers (13-8-4) on Thursday, Nov. 14, and the Grande Prairie Storm (11-12-2) on Friday, Nov. 15.
Both games will be played at the Canmore Recreation Centre beginning at 7 PM.
The Eagles currently occupy fifth-place in the Alberta Junior Hockey League Southern Division standings with 25 points and sport a record of 12-11-1. The Southern Division standings are incredibly tight with just 10 points separating the first-place Brooks Bandits (31 points) from the seventh-place Camrose Kodiaks (21 points).
“With the standings as tight as they are, every game becomes incredibly important for us,” said Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne, whose team has defeated the Oilers twice this season – winning 4-3 in an overtime shootout in Okotoks on Oct. 25, and 2-1 in Canmore on Oct. 29. “We’ve been playing a very disciplined style of game lately and it has proven to be effective for us. I like the way our team is playing now, everyone knows their roles and responsibilities. We know Okotoks will come in here fired up and looking for a little revenge, so we better be prepared to play one of our best games of the season.”
Canmore had their best crowd of the season last Saturday night when 562 fans came out to cheer the Eagles on to a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Mustangs.
“The Canmore Arena is not an easy rink for the visiting team, and a big home crowd makes it even harder for them,” said Milne. “We’re 8-4 at home this season and our enthusiastic fans have really made a difference for us on several occasions. There is a good atmosphere in the rink right now and we want to continue to take advantage of it.”
NOTEBOOK: Okotoks made a big “three players for two players” trade with the Camrose Kodiaks last week. The Oilers sent forwards Spencer Kryczka (13 pts in 23 games), Braeden Salverda (10 pts in 22 games) and D-man Stefan Danielson (2 pts in 23 games) to Camrose for forward Scott Feser (6 pts in 14 games) and D-man Josh Smith (11 pts in 17 games). . . Canmore has played the Grande Prairie Storm once this season losing 4-3 in a shootout in Grande Prairie back on Oct. 19. . . The Eagles are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.