The Innisfail Eagles defeated the Sylvan Lake Admirals but lost to the Bentley Generals this weekend, playing back-to-back games Oct. 19 and 20.
The Eagles brought down the Admirals in Sylvan Lake 6-3 to kick off their weekend.
“We played a heck of a game Friday night,” said coach Brian Sutter.
The Eagles started putting points on the board just a minute and a half into the game, and kept on going. They put another two in the net in the second period and three more in the third.
The Eagles didn't fare as well in their home opener against the Generals but denied Bentley the shutout when Cody Cartier found the net for Innisfail with 12 seconds left in the game.
Sutter said the Eagles' first period was strong but there were some mental breakdowns that let the Generals take the win.
“They didn't have to work very hard to get their goals,” Sutter said.
They came back strong in the third period, he said.
“We kept coming,” he said.
A sold-out crowd packed the Innisfail Twin Arena to watch the Eagles and the Generals face off, though a good part of the crowd was there to support Bentley.
Both teams had several penalties, including a gloves-off situation that resulted in Eagle Matt Ponto and General Brett Robertson each receiving 10 minutes for a game misconduct with two minutes left on the clock in the third period.
“There was a lot of penalties,” Sutter said. He noted the Generals got two of their goals on the power play.
He said it's tough to play two games in a row and coming out one and one isn't a bad result, though he expects more.
“I expect to win every game,” he said.
He said he learned a lot from the game. The team's looking forward to the Oct. 27 match against the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs at home.
“We're going to play our hearts out,” he said.
The weekend brings the Eagles up to a total of two wins and one loss – already a better win record than the team had last year.
“We're going to win more than our share of games,” Sutter said.
