INNISFAIL - B.C.’s Powell River Regals came to town last weekend to return a favour to the Innisfail Eagles and their fans by playing a pair of gritty old-time hockey games with the same passion as in the glory days of senior men's hockey.
Both teams have historic roots to their respective communities.
The Eagles are in their 76th season and still chasing their Allan Cup dream.
The west coast Regals were founded in 1955, and have won the B.C. senior AAA Savage Cup 14 times, and the national Allan Cup championship three times.
But times are tough for both teams. Senior men's hockey across Canada is struggling everywhere to survive.
Nevertheless, both the Eagles and the Regals are still gamely pursuing hockey glory, and give it all on the ice as they proved this past weekend with a pair of exciting exhibition games at the Innisfail Twin Arena.
The Eagles made the long journey to Powell River late last year for two games on Dec. 8 and 9. The Birds took both games by scores of 3-1 and 6-3.
Last weekend Innisfail again defeated the Regals twice; 7-4 on Jan. 26 and 8-3 the following night.
While the most recent scores might appear the Eagles, a AAA-rated squad, had their way with a leisurely skate over the now AA level Powell River squad it was not so.
In fact, the second game’s scoresheet had final shots on goal even at 34 for both teams.
But Innisfail was definitely the better team in the end, with the Birds’ Michael Marianchuk scoring a hattrick in the 8-3 victory and newcomer Dylan Thudium netting a highlight reel seventh goal in the third period.
“I think skating-wise hockey ability was close. It was just that they (Innisfail) had a better game, and have more experience,” said Regals head coach Tod English after the second game on Jan. 27. “We could have broken it open a few times.
“They (Eagles) play a good hard game and they come through the neutral zone very well,” he said, adding his squad has to keep playing teams with the same skill level as the Eagles. “Sooner or later we'll be that good.”
The losses against the Eagles and the lessons learned are bound to serve the Regals going forward.
They are an independent AA team that is hosting the 2024 Coy Cup in March to determine the senior men's AA champion in British Columbia.
As for the Eagles, it keeps them busy and fresh as they are still battling their arch-rival Stony Plain Eagles for first place in the two-team Chinook Hockey League.
They will then battle in a playoff for the provincial AAA championship to determine the Alberta representative in this spring’s Allan Cup championship in Ontario.
Eagles general manager Ryan Dodd said the home and away games against Powell River had huge benefits for his team’s quest to get back into the national AAA championship.
“It gives us another look because we've been playing Stony over and over and over,” said Dodd. “Every time you play a different team you see a different system and you have to adapt and react to something new.
“If you're planning on going out and playing in the Allan Cup there’s going to be different teams out there. You want to be able to see how guys react and see what the systems are like,” he added. “Ultimately, it gives us an opportunity to try a few different things.”
Birds’ coach Kevin Smyth was in total agreement, adding it also gave his team to put different and new players into the lineup, like brothers Chase and Dylan Thudium.
“They came to us a couple of weeks ago. They'll definitely help us down the road,” said Smyth, adding his team also needs to bounce back from a tough 6-2 road loss against Stony Plain on Jan. 20.
“We went up there and didn’t give it the best effort,” said Smyth. “We played well for about 35 minutes. But of course the game is 60 minutes so we need to have a good practice on Wednesday and be prepared to go up there next weekend and get the job done.”
The Birds go on the road to play Stony Plain on Feb. 3, and will play Stony again at home on Feb. 17. Puck drop is 3 p.m.
