INNISFAIL - The Innisfail Eagles take on Stony Plain on home turf Saturday in the teams' third matchup in regular season Chinook Hockey League play.
Each team has won one game so far this season.
Most recently, the Innisfail Eagles travelled north on Oct. 28 to Stony Plain to face its northern namesake rival and came home with a 4 – 2 victory, the senior men’s AAA team’s first of the 2023-24 season.
The southern Birds were looking to avenge the previous 7 - 6 overtime season-opening loss in front of their home crowd on Oct. 21 with a solid road win.
Stony Plain carried the action in the first period and took a 1-0 lead 9:32 into the period as Brad Bourke slipped a low one past Innisfail goalie Chance Clark after some nice passing from Jordan Ceh and Spencer Galbraith.
The Birds came back but couldn’t beat Stony Plain netminder Wyatt Hoflin who was getting his first taste of Chinook Hockey action. Shots were 19 - 17 in the first for Stony Plain.
Innisfail came out stronger in the second but it wasn’t until the 11:36 mark of the period that Colton Hayes set up Ty Clay who went upstairs over Hoflin to bring the game even.
Stony Plain took their lead back only three minutes later as Cruise Reddick got his second of the season from Zane Avery and Brendan Willey. The period ended 2 - 1 Stony with shots in that period 17 - 14 for Stony.
In the third, it was a different energy for Innisfail as they came out hard looking for an equalizer.
They got their opportunity with Kruise Reddick in the box. Clay got his second of the night assisted again by Hayes.
Hayes finally put the Birds up for the first time in the game with another power-play marker as he jumped up into the play and took a Mike Marianchuk pass and buried it past a helpless Hoflin. Joe Vandermeer also picked up an assist.
Hayes scored again and got his fourth point of the night at the 10 minute mark as he scored with a laser shot from the point past a screened Hoflin. Josh Gette picked up the assist.
The northern Eagles had a 5 - 3 man advantage late in the third but couldn’t solve the penalty killing of the Birds and the goaltending of Chance Clark who was outstanding in the Innisfail net.
Clark stopped 49 of 51 for the 4 – 2 win. Hoflin stopped 41 in the Stony Plain net.
- With files from MVP Staff
