With a third of the regular season now done there is plenty of good for the Innisfail Eagles to reflect on.
But that will never satisfy head coach Brian Sutter.
Sure his senior men's squad was only one point out of first place behind the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs heading into last weekend, and yes, the Eagles beat the Allan Cup champion Bentley Generals on Nov. 8, and the Eagles only gave up five goals in the past three games before last weekend.
That is pretty good stuff, but Sutter is not one to stand pat, especially when his squad is not lighting up the net with anything close to authority. Before heading into the two games last weekend against Fort Saskatchewan and the Okotoks Drillers, the Eagles were last in offence in the five-team Chinook Hockey League with 18 goals in seven games. The team's leading scorer – Aaron Boyer – was sitting 11th in the league with three goals and four assists.
“You always need more scoring. There is no question about that. It has to be a combined thing. This time of year you are always experimenting,” said Sutter. “We need a little bit more offence, and we've got to work harder at that. We've got to keep working defensively. It is a day-to-day thing. I am not worried about Saturday night until Friday night is done.”
But the Eagles have shone on defence, giving up 19 goals in those first seven games. That is the second best in the league, behind Bentley, which has allowed an astonishingly low nine markers in five games.
“That is pretty impressive,” said Sutter of his team's defensive play. “Of the five goals against, only one of them has been five on five and the rest have been power- play goals against.”
But Sutter knows there are still a lot of games yet to play before the playoffs begin. He knows his team has to score more goals but more importantly he wants the Eagles to focus on consistency, which he says will take some time.
“We are two points out of first place so we've done a lot of good things but we are still a long ways to where we want to be,” said Sutter. “I am not getting ahead of myself. It is a week-to-week thing and you have to keep getting better all the time. That is the single biggest thing – you have to just keep getting better every week. We have a ways to go.
“It is like climbing the stairs,” he added. “On top of the stairs is where the playoffs start, and there are a whole bunch of rooms on top of the stairs and once you get to the top of the stairs you have to start kicking doors in.”
But to get to the top of those stairs Sutter realizes the road ahead is a tough one, not because his team doesn't have the ingredients to pull it all together, but the competition is tight and fierce.
“The neat thing is that it is a real close league. We have a 24-game schedule and you have to be consistent. I keep coming back to that,” said Sutter. “You have to compete hard and we've got to keep adding to what we are doing. I am never satisfied. You can't be satisfied. Our goal is to win the last game of the year.”
