The senior ‘AA’ Eckville Eagles continue to show growth and maturity as their inaugural season continues.
Over the weekend, the Eagles showed maturity by outlasting a young and feisty Westlock Warrior team that according to General Manager/ defensemen Reed Watts, is much better then their 3-9-1 record suggests.
“They come with 20 guys,” he said. “They are a team in transition after winning the league two years ago. They are a potent offensive team. They can score in bunches but they are reassembling their roster.”
Westlock would come out with a 2-1 lead. Jared Williams cashed in the first goal of the game for Eckville with an asssit from Patrick Turville and Jay Young. Giving up first period goals has become a bothersome trend according to Watts.
“We had a good meeting before the game about what we wanted to do,” Watts said. “That was to not surrender the first goal. We wanted to hold the fort and capitalize off their mistakes. We know they are a young team so we figured they would make a few. I don’t know why we always give up the first but the answer back was great to see.”
The Eagles would answer back for the rest of the game as the Eagles took the game from the Warriors with another goal from Williams, two goals from Devon Hobbs and one a piece from Matthew Kinnunen and Brian Pieper. Hobbs would finish the night with three points.
The win against Westlock was crucial, as the Eagles now go back on the road to face the first placed team Daysland, who previously hung a 8-1 victory against the Eagles earlier on this season.
“Our game against Daysland will be a huge one,” Watts said. “It would be great to have a strong showing and show the league what we are made of.”
He added, “Daysland is the premier team in the league right now so to come out and steal one would be unbelievable. We need to show them and ourselves that we are not the team that lost 8-1 to them.”
Getting a victory against the 10-1-3 Daysland team would be a perfect way to head into the nearly month long break. The Eagles play again in Bonnyville on January 7. Staying in hockey shape will be the key for the Eagles over the break.
“That first practice will be an interesting one sweating out all that turkey and ham,” Watts quipped. “We will try to get everyone in game shape. We are all hockey players and we all have that muscle memory. I’ll start pestering the guys telling them to go for a jog.”
Watts wanted to thank everyone who has supported the Eagles so far this season and hopes to see even more people come out in the new year.
“It has been awesome so far and we have some loyal followers,” Watts said. “I have loved every minute of it here in Eckville. Thanks for the support so far and I hope to see everyone after the break when we play Edson before playoffs.”
He added “we will need all the loud fans for the playoffs.”
reporter@sylvanlakenews.com