INNISFAIL - It was 71 years in the making.
The Innisfail Eagles are playing for their very first Allan Cup in team history.
The Birds defeated the defending Allan Cup champions, the Stoney Creek Generals, 3-2 in the first Allan Cup semifinal game Friday (April 12) afternoon in Lacombe.
"Tonight we had to persevere, we killed a pile of penalties," said Brian Sutter, Eagles head coach. "At this time of the year, you got to respect who you're playing against, but after that you got to decide how the game goes.
"It's special," he added...(but) you got to keep your emotions in check. (Stoney Creek) is the best team in Canada, they won (the Allan Cup) last year and they beat us the other night 2-1."
Innisfail opened the scoring with a power play goal from defenceman Colton Hayes towards the end of the first period. Stoney Creek got on the boards with a goal from Nathan Pageau and tied the game at 1-1 late in the second frame, but it was Innisfail's Shawn Bates who netted a goal with just two seconds remaining in the second period, giving Innisfail a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Stoney Creek did not back down and tied the game again at 2-2 thanks to a goal from Justin Donati early in the final frame. But it was Innisfail forward Justin Cox who was the hero of the day, scoring the Eagles third and game-winning goal with just under five minutes remaining in the semifinal game.
"Your year's on the line and to see it go in the net is such a relief and at the same time you're just happy to win as a group," said Cox. "Coach Sutter has been preaching that since the first day we got here, and it was (about) how important every single guy is in the room."
Cox noted some key factors in Friday's win, including capitalizing on chances and strong defence.
"They're an extremely talented group over there and we knew that coming in and we knew we had to play as a strong five-man defence to defeat them," said Cox "It's not easy beating a team like that, they're an Allan Cup champion and they're there for a reason. It was just a great team effort by us," he added.
Cox spoke of the challenge they face in the final against either against the Lacombe Generals or the Rosetown Red Wings.
"This is now in the final game," said Cox. "What you're going to do and how much effort you're going to put in and how hard you want to lay it on the line, I think that's going to be the key."
Innisfail's Allen York stood tall between the pipes Friday afternoon, making 27 saves, most of them timely and outstanding.
"We believe in what we're doing. We play such an honest, hard-working game," said York. "Anytime you get to play in a championship game, it's very special. There's so much history with the Allan Cup."
The Innisfail Eagles will square off against long time league rival, the Lacombe Generals in tomorrow's game.
The 2019 Allan Cup final will be televised on TSN. Puck drop is 6 p.m. MT
