INNISFAIL – For the past two weeks the Birds of Innisfail have shown they are a team capable of getting timely goals when it counts most.
In two critically important semifinal games against the Wetaskiwin Longhorns the Eagles won in overtime, both at home and on the road.
In the opening game of the North Central Hockey League (NCHL) senior men’s hockey final series against defending league champion Lacombe Generals the Birds overcame third-period adversity by scoring the game-winning goal shorthanded with just 1:36 remaining.
A big part of that dramatic moment was Quintin Lisoway; a 29-year-old, six-year Eagles veteran and centre, who set up Tyler Berkholtz’s game winning goal.
“The puck was at the blue line. I chipped it out to centre ice and was chasing it down, chasing their D-man,” said Lisoway, who scored earlier in the period to put the Eagles ahead before the Generals tied the game in a seesaw battle. “I just tried to get body positioning and was able to hear Berky calling for it in the background, so I was able to slide it over to him.
“He made a great play and put the puck in the net at a crucial time in the game.”
The Eagles went on to win 5-3 to take Game 1 of the final.
Game 2 is on the evening of Saturday, March 15 at the Innisfail Twin Arena. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
If the Birds win, they will have a commanding two games to zero lead in the series.
If they lose, the series will be tied going back to Lacombe the following day (March 16) for Game 3, an afternoon game with a start time of 2:30 p.m. at the Gary Moe Auto Group Sportsplex.
“We’re feeling confident. I think our group is really gelling at the right time,” said Lisoway, a Calgarian who drives up to Innisfail for every practice and game.
He was at the Innisfail Twin Arena on March 12 to be part of the team photo and then for the crucial team practice for Game 2.
“It's been a process these playoffs,” said Lisoway. “We had a tough first round, and we managed to come together as a group and win that one.
“We didn't start out on the right foot in the second round against Wetaskiwin, but again we just stuck together, stuck with it and stuck with each other, and ended up coming back winning three straight and winning that series,” he added. “And you know we're going to continue building off a strong game one and just trust the process and keep going with it.”
The team practice after the team’s photo shoot was a high and positive energy affair from the start.
The atmosphere in the dressing room was confident with every player anxious to get on the ice to fine tune themselves for Game 2.
“The guys want to get going. They want to get out. They want to have a practice,” said Eagles head coach Ryan Dodd. “You ask them what they want to work on and they’re like, ‘we want to skate, do puck touches and power plays’, and they’re excited.
“Saturday can’t come quick enough.”
As for the finer points of preparation for Game 2, Dodd is predicting Lacombe will have fresh faces out on the ice, including all-star forward Cam Maclise.
“I'll expect they're going to have a couple other top end guys that they were missing,” said Dodd. “I think they're going to come out physical. They're going to skate, and they're going to run at us, and when they run at us, we're going to take advantage of it.
“If they're running at you, we can use the boards and create odd man rushes and we know how to attack (goalie) Engel. We've played the best goalies all the way through, which has helped us build up to playing Engel,” added Dodd.
“Our guys are well prepared and know how to score. I don't expect any of these games to be big blowouts or runaways,” he said. “I think they're all going to be very close, tight checking, hard hitting, fast games that are just going to be fun to watch.”
