PHOTO: Connor Wilson had a three point night to lead the Eagles to a 3-2 victory over the Spruce Grove Saints.
Second-year forward Connor Wilson had a three point evening and scored the overtime winner with just .14 seconds remaining to lift the Canmore Eagles to a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Spruce Grove Saints in Alberta Junior Hockey League action at the Canmore Recreation Centre on Tuesday night.
With the overtime victory, the Eagles snap a four-game losing streak and improve their early season record to 4-5.
The overtime winner was the first goal of the season for Wilson and his three point evening now give the shifty forward nine points in just nine games.
Luke Simpson, with his 8th goal, and Bryan Arneson (3rd) had the other Eagle goals. Arneson scored his goal while short-handed and it marked the Eagles first short-handed goal since December 8, 2011.
Rookie netminder Ryan Ferguson had a solid game in goal for the Eagles as he stopped 25 of the 27 Spruce Grove shots. Canmore was outshot 27-20 on the night, including a 10-4 margin in the second period.
“Connor has played some excellent hockey for us this season and it is great to see him rewarded for his efforts,” said Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “His work ethic and compete level is unmatched. He made several outstanding plays throughout the evening, none better than his overtime winner as the clock was winding down. As a team we needed something good to happen to us from a confidence level, and Willy provided that for us tonight.”
With the victory, the Eagles move into fourth-place in the tightly bunched AJHL Southern Division standings with 8 points and now trail the third-place Olds Grizzlys by just one point. The Eagles have played two less games than the Grizzlys.
Canmore will travel to Brooks on Friday night to play the first-place Bandits (7-1), before returning to play the Olds Grizzlys at the Canmore Recreation Centre on Saturday night (Oct. 5). Game time is 7 PM.
NOTEBOOK: The Eagles powerplay, which came into last night's game with the second best powerplay in the AJHL, went zero for 6 last night. . . The game was played before a season low crowd of just 329 . . The Eagles will play three of their next four games at home. . . .Congratulations to Ralph Belcourt who won the raffle for the Canmore Eagles Deluxe BBQ Package with ticket # 0053.