The Innisfail Eagles started their year out with a pair of wins during the Eye Opener Hockey Tournament hosted by SAIT Sept. 28-29.
“It's a good start to the season,” said coach Brain Sutter.
The team defeated Thompson Rivers University WolfPack out of Kamloops, B.C., 7-2 on Sept. 28.
Then they went up against Trinity Western University from Langley, B.C., 9-0 on Sept. 29.
“They were two good games,” Sutter said.
The Eagles were one of four teams that went to the tournament.
The regular season for the team starts Oct. 12, with the first home game scheduled for Oct. 20 against the Bentley Generals, with the action starting at 7:30 p.m.
Tryouts and training camp have been underway since early September. Sutter said the roster won't be finalized until early 2013 but the guys hitting the ice are looking great.
“We got a darned good team here,” Sutter said.
At the tournament about 20 guys were dressed for each game, with about eight sitting out each time. They're down to about 28-30 players that are coming out for training camp and tryouts.
“There was 40-some (prospects),” Sutter said of the initial tryouts.
Last year he thinks only 12-14 players were playing in each Eagles game.
“We're going OK,” he said.
