When the Eagles burst out of the gates for the first period of play on home ice against the Sylvan Lake Admirals the pace was fast-paced.
When the Eagles burst out of the gates for the first period of play on home ice against the Sylvan Lake Admirals the pace was fast-paced. The opponents demonstrated a crisp and elegant brand of hockey, in stark contrast to the brawl-filled matchup witnessed when the Bentley Generals came to town.
Though the Eagles came away with a 7-2 win, the outcome was anything but a foregone conclusion.
"We’d only played one game in two weeks and they played three games in the last two weeks so you know they’re going to be a little sharper," said Eagles coach Brian Sutter of the Admirals’ initial ferocity. "They’re gonna skate, they’re gonna work and they’re gonna attack in all zones."
Teams traded post and crossbar nicks as careful passes and quick feet made up a scoreless first frame that went end to end. But the Eagles had a strategy to wear down the naval officers.
"You can use their aggressiveness and their speed in your favour," Sutter said. "Everybody’s gotta follow through, and we did."
Brandon Knelson broke the ice with help from Brendan Baumgartner at 14:51 of the second, putting the Admirals up one to zip. It was just minutes before the Eagles’ formidable fourth line of Clark Lowry, Kelly Rogers and Graham Telford would start the momentum leading to the avalanche that would take down the team from Sylvan.
Kelly Rogers banged in his first of three at 12:25 on his way to being crowned player of the game for the Eagles as Telford and Clark grabbed points on the play.
"They’re not our prototypical goal-scorers," said Assistant Captain Brody Malek. "Those guys make everyone else jump on board and realize what it takes to win."
Baumgartner knocked in another for the visitors and goalie Colin Stebner was called in to guard the Eagles’ nest.
"It was a wake up call for the guys and they responded pretty well, scoring six unanswered," Stebner said. "It was a huge game for us because we lost the last two – you definitely don’t want to lose three in a row. It was a must-win for us."
The Eagles’ win put them in a solid position as they head into the second half of the season.
"Instead of being four and three we’re five and two – that’s a huge difference," said winger Graham Telford. "You know, you step out there and you’re doing it for the guy beside you."
Innisfail will play the Admirals again at home on Dec. 14.
