The Sicamous Eagles made the most of a pair of games in front of the home crowd over the weekend.
The opening period of the Friday, Sept. 27 game saw the Eagles trade numerous shots on goal with the visiting North Okanagan Knights, with neither side able to slip one by the opposing goaltender.
The Eagles broke the deadlock early in the second with a goal from Brandon Pelletier. The home team added another goal to the tally immediately after the first, this one coming off the stick of Jaxon Danilec.
The Sicamous squad went to work on the power play midway through the period as Cade Enns of the Knights served a tripping penalty. Julian Fodor fired the puck past Sean Kanervisto in the visitors’ net on a play set up by Danilec and Cole Nisse.
The Knights got on the board on a power play of their own shortly after the Eagles’ third goal. Enns managed a shorthanded, unassisted goal to leave the score 3-2 Eagles heading into the third period.
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The home team didn’t wait long after the opening face-off of the third period to extend their lead. Jaimes Guidon, a rookie out of Oyama, scored his third of the season to stretch the Eagles’ lead to 4-2. An unassisted goal from Brayden Haskell put the finishing touch on a convincing 5-2 win for the Eagles.
The following night, the Sicamous and District Rec Centre hosted more KIJHL action as the Golden Rockets came to town. The teams had already met in pre-season exhibition play; the Eagles brought home the win on that occasion.
The home team looked to repeat their pre-season result when it counted in the league standings. Trevor Ebelling scored nine minutes into the game — it would be the only goal of the first period.
Danilec sniped home his second of the weekend early in the middle period. The Rockets replied with a goal from Dominic Turner a few minutes later.
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Jakob McLean scored for the Eagles with just over seven minutes remaining in the period. Evan Angus scored for the Rockets eight seconds later, leaving the score 3-2 Eagles. The third frame passed scoreless, wrapping up a win for the Eagles.
Koltin Dodge stood up to 42 shots from the Rockets over the course of the game which saw the visitors unable to capitalize on any of their 11 power-play opportunities. Dodge was named the game’s first star for his efforts between the pipes.
Following the weekend’s victories, the Eagles are sitting atop the Doug Birks Division of the KIJHL’s Okanagan/Shuswap Conference. Their record sits at four wins and three losses for a total of eight points, putting them two points ahead of their nearest rivals in the division, the 100 Mile House Wranglers.
The Eagles will get another crack at the Knights in their next game scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start on Oct. 4 at the Nor-Val Centre in Armstrong.
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