CANMORE – Carter Coutu’s third period goal came up huge as the Canmore Eagles held on to defeat the Lloydminster Bobcats 4-3 Tuesday (March 19) in Canmore.
“We were just fore-checking all day and getting pucks in deep and we shot on net and the rebound came to me and I just put it in the back of the net,” said Coutu, an 18-year-old forward.
With the win, the Eagles went up 2-1 in the best-of-seven playoff series.
Owen Jones and Ethan Look each scored and had one helper on Tuesday night and Zach Coutu scored his second goal of the series.
Matthew Malin (2-0-1) made 18 saves on home ice.
The Eagles came out flying and firing in Game 3, scoring three goals in the opening frame. However, the Bobcats were far from out and clawed back into the game and cut the lead to one at the end of the second.
The Bobcats completed the comeback early in the third when Ryah Redekopp snuck one past Malin to tie things up at three. Less than two minutes later though, Coutu came through with a timely goal that turned into the game-winner.
With the victory, the Eagles avoided back-to-back comeback losses. In Game 2, the Bobcats won a controversial game in double overtime after being down 3-1 in the third period.
The No. 7 Eagles don’t expect anything to be handed to them against the No. 2 Bobcats.
“They’re definitely a good team, you know, we knew it was going to be a battle and it wasn’t going to be f------- easy, it’s playoffs. So we battled and came back and it was a playoff win,” said Coutu.
“I think you just got to give them credit,” said defenceman Emanuel Hudson on the Bobcats’ three straight goals. “They played desperate hockey and they were rewarded for it so we just got to be a bit more on our toes for that.”
Since Feb. 15, the Eagles have played their best hockey of the season, with a record of 9-1-2.
The late surge is a result of the season-long development process of players to get them ready for the intense nature of playoff hockey, said Eagles head coach and general manager Andrew Milne.
“I think our hockey over the last 14 games has been awesome,” said Milne. “The guys are seeing that the work we put in earlier in the year is paying off and the structure is working.”
The series is back in Canmore Wednesday (March 20) for Game 4. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
The series returns to Lloydminster for Game 5 on Friday (March 22).
If necessary, Game 6 would be in Canmore on Sunday (March 24) at 5 p.m. Game 7 would be back in Lloydminster on March 26.
