INNISFAIL - Hockey night in Innisfail returned for the Birds’ historic 75th anniversary season on Oct. 15 and the Innisfail Eagles did not disappoint.
After shaking off some early first period rust in the home and 2022-23 season-opening game in the resurrected AAA Chinook Hockey League (CHL), the Birds finished the first frame with a 3 – 0 lead against the new Coyotes Hockey Club.
Early in the second the Eagle’s made it 4 – 0 and then the Coyotes, playing in their first-ever season in the CHL as a double A team, made it interesting with two quick goals and it was 4 – 2.
But that was as close at it ever got. The Birds turned on the jets. The hometown squad responded with two to close out the second period with a 6 – 2 lead.
In the third period the Coyotes were totally over-matched as the Birds notched another four. The final score was 10 – 2.
Quintin Lisoway led the Birds with a hattrick. Pierre-Luc Mercier and Josh Gette each had a pair while Mike Marianchuk, Justin Faryna and Logan Goodar-Zimmer added singles.
However, what really grabbed the attention of the Birds’ interim head coach Ryan Dodd was the stellar play of forward Colton Hayes. He notched six assists and was seemingly in the centre of action everywhere.
“He had opportunities where he could have shot the puck, and found the guy that was wide open,” said Dodd. “It was an unselfish hockey game, which is just great leadership by Hayes and leading the charge with the way he was moving the puck and seeing the ice. He just had great vision for the game tonight and ultimately, he’s in on six of the 10 goals.”
After the game the humble Hayes credited snipers Lisoway and Mercier for making his job easier.
“We are so deep upfront and it’s so easy to move the puck to those guys and let them do the rest,” said Hayes, who lives in Okotoks while playing in his fourth season for the Eagles. “It's one of those nights that everything kind of went the right way. We played as a team and that's what's going to happen when you play hard for 60 minutes.”
It was also a monumental game for young Eagles forward Gette. His two goals in the first game of the year on Oct. 15 doubled his entire output last season.
“I’m really happy with it. It’s nice to get it out of the way right at the start,” said Gette, a proud Innisfailian. “I’m feeling a lot more confident with the puck this year. There are a lot of guys to learn from here.”
Yes, it was a good start for the Birds for sure. Dodd give his team a “definite thumbs up” but he noted there are areas his squad needs to work on before the next game on Oct. 29 against longstanding AAA rivals Stony Plain Eagles; a contest that will surely be more competitive.
“I thought some of our back checks could have been a little bit better. We got a little bit sloppy on their two goals where we started turning pucks over,” said Dodd. “We just kind of had a little bit of a mental lapse and stopped moving our feet and lost a couple puck battles and ultimately the puck is in the back of your net.
“I'd like to see us using the boards a little bit more, moving our feet a little bit more, backchecking through the middle of the ice and finding guys to pick up,” he added. “It ultimately allows our defenseman to stay up in place.”
In the meantime, Coyotes coach Lorne Paquette was pleased with his team’s performance in the first period. He admitted matters “fell apart” in in the second half of the game but added his team, which does not yet have a home, is doing its very best in its inaugural season.
“It's a slow process with a new team. These guys are a good bunch and they're really good to each other in the dressing room. It's a start,” said Paquette, whose squad will be playing all its home games in Innisfail this year while trying to secure a new home after being unable to strike an arena deal in Carstairs. “We can build on tonight. We had a (breakdown) there for the third period and we played a different game that we didn't practice.
“We were OK with the outcome because we know we're going to build on it, right” So having that I'm pretty impressed with the guys.”
The Eagles next home game is Nov. 5 against the Coyotes Hockey Club.
