TWO HOME GAMES THIS WEEKEND!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 – The Canmore Eagles will play two home games this weekend as they will host the mighty Brooks Bandits on Friday night (Nov. 30) and the Fort McMurray Oil Barons on Saturday night (Dec. 1). Both games will begin at 7 pm at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
Friday’s game against the Brooks Bandits will be a monumental challenge for the injury challenged Eagles as Brooks is currently ranked as the #1 Junior A team in the entire country. The defending Alberta Junior Hockey League champions sport an impressive 25-1 record this season and have outscored their opposition by a whopping 78 goals in the process.
The Bandits currently have five players in the league’s top ten scoring parade as Cam Maclise (37 pts), Mark Reners (35 pts), Dakota Mason (34 pts), Shane Pilling (34 pts) and Anthony Petruzzelli (30 pts) are all in contention for the AJHL scoring championship.
Brooks is especially dangerous on the power play as they have recorded 47 power play goals in just 138 opportunities for a 34% success rating.
In their only meeting this season in Canmore on October 16, the Bandits defeated the Eagles by a 8-3 margin. Special team play was the difference in that game as Brooks scored three power play goals in six opportunities and also scored a short-handed goal.
“We’ll have to play one of our best games of the season if we hope to compete with Brooks on Friday night,” said Eagle’s Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “They are the best Junior A team in Canada right now and their power play is extremely dangerous. They are so strong offensively that we just can’t afford to take any penalties against them whatsoever. We better be prepared to work extremely hard on every shift or the game could get away from us very quickly. Discipline and hard work will be the key for us.”
On Saturday night, the Eagles will get their first look at the Northern Division’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
The Oil Barons are 13-12-3 this year and find themselves in seventh-place in the Northern Division standings. Fort McMurray will also be playing their second game in as many nights as they will face the Okotoks Oilers in Okotoks on Friday night.