OLDS — This Friday, Jan. 28, the Olds Grizzlys continue their road trip with a visit to the Canmore Eagles in Canmore.
That could be a challenge for the brown and gold.
The Eagles sit 28 points ahead of the Grizzlys in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) standings with an 18-23-7 record in 48 games while the Grizzlys have a 5-35-5 record in 45 games.
Then on Saturday, Jan. 29, they take on the Canucks in Calgary. As of Jan. 24, the Canucks had a 10-32-5 record for 25 points in 47 games.
The Grizzlys did get a bit of a positive pick-up on Friday Jan. 21 when they earned a point in a 6-5 overtime loss the Blackfalds Bulldogs in Blackfalds.
Unfortunately, the next night, the Grizzlys lost 3-1 to the Bulldogs.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, the Grizzlys suffered another tough loss, 7-4 to the Okotoks Oilers in Okotoks.
Several back-up goaltenders drew into the Grizzlys lineup during the road trip.
They are Peyton Lobe of the Sylvan Lake Wranglers of the Heritage Junior Hockey League, Kaden Toussaint of the U18 AAA Red Deer Optimist Chiefs and Ethan Rau of the U18 AAA Calgary Flames, who saw his first AJHL start as a substitute goaltender.
The Grizzlys also announced that Connor Koponyas, born Jan. 29, 2005, signed letter of intent to play for the team.
Koponyas plays right wing for the U18 AAA Calgary Royals. He stands 5’11”, weighs 170 pounds and shoots right.
So far this season, he has scored eight goals, picked up 15 assists, and served 56 penalty minutes in 25 games.
Koponyas has been a Grizzlys affiliate for five games this season.
A tweet quotes Grizzlys head coach Scott Atkinson as saying “we are very excited about Connor signing a letter of intent with the Grizzlys organization. He’s been having a good year with the Royals.
“We feel Connor is ready to play junior hockey next season and has a high development ceiling for the future.”
