INNISFAIL – Excitement is building in Innisfail and the region for the upcoming North Central Hockey League (NCHL) finals.
Innisfail's mayor Jean Barclay caught up with Lacombe's mayor Grant Creasey this week in Edmonton at the 2025 Spring Municipal Leaders’ Caucus and they made a friendly wager on the best-of-seven senior men’s series that begins Saturday night.
“Council members of the losing community will be wearing the winners’ jerseys at a council meeting,” Barclay told the Albertan, adding a group photo with all council members wearing Eagles jerseys will be taken this coming Monday.
In the meantime, there is plenty of optimism on the Innisfail Eagles hockey team as players and team staff continue their quest to win a championship in their inaugural season in the NCHL.
The league’s Vanberg Cup is on the line, with the winners moving on to the 2025 Senior AA Men's Provincial Championships in Lethbridge from April 3 to 6.
But they will have to start against the defending NCHL champion Lacombe Generals, a team that came first in the 2024-25 regular season and is loaded with skill and talent.
They are also the same team that thwarted the Eagles best chance ever of winning an Allan Cup by beating the Birds in the 2019 final.
“The history is still there. I know they got guys on their team that remember when the Eagles and the Generals went head-to-head,” said Eagles head coach Ryan Dodd of the past fierce rivalry in the old Chinook Hockey League. "I think you're going to see a lot of the fans coming out that still remember those rivalries.”
More importantly now, Dodd liked what he saw and heard at practice at the Innisfail Twin Arena on Wednesday night.
Dodd said the rink was packed with exuberant players and it was “crazy.
“Guys are cheering each other on. One guy fell down on a drill, and everybody started smacking their sticks on the ice,” said Dodd, noting many of his players have played in senior men’s hockey championship games. “The guys are just buzzing. They are absolutely fired right up.”
The upcoming NCHL finals between the Eagles and Generals begin on the road March 8 in Lacombe at 8:15 p.m. at the Gary Moe Auto Group Sportsplex.
Game 2 will be back at the Innisfail Twin Arena on Saturday, March 15, with puck drop at 7:30 p.m.
The Birds got to the NCHL finals by winning their semifinals against the Wetaskiwin Longhorns in dramatic fashion, losing the first game 5-1, and then winning three in a row, including two in overtime.
“We'll have to build off of the momentum that we had from the Wetaskiwin series, and kind of channel the storm that’s brewing right now and build off of it,” said Dodd. “This series will come down to who wants it, who's willing to sacrifice and go to the end to get it.
“I think we're in a really good spot.”
But Dodd is not taking anything for granted.
There is that longstanding rivalry between the two teams, but Dodd is taking the high road with ample respect for the defending NCHL champions.
“They're a big, strong, fast hockey club, and they’ve got a lot of skill,” said Dodd. “We're going to have to match them speed for speed, which I know we're very capable of.
“We're going to have to play a physical hockey game to take away some of their time and their space. You give those really good players time and space, and they make things happen with a hockey puck,” added Dodd.
“We take away their time and space and keep on breaking them down shift by shift,” he said. “We've got four lines that on any given night can put the puck in the net.
“I'm not afraid of rolling anybody and playing anyone out there. They can all play at this level.”
Dodd said for the most part his team is healthy, although team captain Joe Vandermeer will miss the first game due to an upper body injury.
“The guys love having him in the room and it's going to be tough not having Joe in the lineup,” said Dodd.
But he also noted forward Jacob Wozney is coming back into the lineup.
“He's a key guy for us. He can put the puck in the net. He's got a gift of being able to find holes, and he can skate,” said Dodd.
And rookie Chance Griffith will get the start in goal for Game 1.
“The fire is still burning,” said Dodd.
