INNISFAIL – It was a historic journey for the Innisfail Eagles.
Despite losing 5-2 to the Lacombe Generals in the 2019 Allan Cup championship game, the Innisfail Eagles had a season that was far from ordinary.
For the first time in the team’s history, they not only made it to the Allan Cup, they earned a spot in the final championship game on April 13 as one of Canada’s top two senior men’s AAA teams.
For many, the Allan Cup run was the final touch on a rewarding 2018-19 season.
“(We) appreciate where we got. We did something the team’s never done before,” said Brian Sutter, Eagles head coach. “You go to the final game of the Allan Cup and you battle to get here. There’s a lot to look up to.”
Eagles forward Justin Cox said the team worked hard and were committed to each other in their pursuit of an Allan Cup championship.
“We’re really proud of the guys in there and really proud of everybody. We want to hold our heads high,” said Cox. “We did what we could do and unfortunately we didn’t come up on the right end of it. This was a goal to get to this game and we got here.
“When we started our year that was our number 1 goal," he added. "Maybe not everybody thought that we would be there but we knew it, and we believed in each other in that room. That was the difference.”
Hundreds of Innisfail fans made the trek down the QEII Highway to show their support for their hometown team throughout the weeklong tournament. The Eagles lost their first two games of the tourney but stormed back to make the final game, which was a close, thrilling contest right to the end with the Birds down by only one goal until Lacombe scored two empty-net goals in the final minute.
For some players, Saturday’s loss may have been more profound.
Eagles forward Shawn Bates played his last game with Innisfail and confirmed several weeks ago he and his family will soon be moving to the United States.
Bates and goaltender Allen York were named Allan Cup all-stars. Bates also earned the Bill Saunders Award as the 2019 Allan Cup MVP with seven points (3 goals, 4 assists).
He said the Eagles’ roster was filled with quality people and strong character.
“Barney (goaltender Kraymer Barnstable) said it best when he said, ‘I’d rather be with a group of guys in this room losing, than be with the groups of guys over there.’ That’s just the type of character in our room,” said Bates.
He spoke of the determination and hard work the Birds put in this season, right up to the Allan Cup final.
“Like I said three months ago, not many people believed us (that we’d be here in the final game),” said Bates. “Our fans did, and you can see how many came out here to support us this week. That was pretty special.”
