The Sicamous Eagles are going into the 2018/19 KIJHL season confident and with a good core of returning players to back it up.
The team’s head coach Rob Fitzpatrick said depending on the number of last year’s Eagles who succeeded at their tryouts for Junior A teams, as many as 15 players could be veterans of the previous season.
While Fitzpatrick noted the Eagles’ main camp, which ran from Aug. 21 to 31 drew fewer players than it has in previous years, a good contingent of local players turned up.
“I’m cautiously optimistic we’re going to have a good start to the season. Exhibition will be a testing ground for some of the newer kids and the younger kids,” he said.
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Fitzpatrick noted the team has acquired a goaltender with Junior A experience. Brett Akins, who will be the Eagles’ number one man between the pipes, comes to the team from the Fort Frances Lakers of the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).
The Eagles’ are testing players for the position but have not committed to a second goaltender yet.
Eagles GM Wayne March said the team will continue its outreach work with Minor Hockey and other community groups during the upcoming season. He said Eagles players will continue to help instruct at minor hockey practices and minor hockey players will take the ice as a ceremonial sixth skater at home games. March said he hopes to organize minor hockey novice and pre-novice scrimmages to entertain the crowd between periods at Eagles home games.
Now that figure skating classes have returned to the Sicamous Arena, March said the young figure skaters can be the ones to carry the flags onto the ice for the national anthem.
“Overall, from my end as a GM, I think the way coaches have been working, and they’ve been working all summer to improve us for the season, I’m expecting a fairly good season.”
The Eagles kicked off pre-season play at home against the Golden Rockets, losing in a close and high-scoring contest 5-4.
Both teams came out strong, picking up a pair of goals in the opening period. Golden kept up the pressure, scoring twice in the second frame while the Eagles found the back of the net once.
In the final period, each team picked up a goal apiece but Sicamous couldn’t tie it up before the end of the game.
The Eagles hosted the Kelowna Chiefs in an exhibition game after the Eagle Valley News’ press deadline on Tuesday, Sept. 4 and will hit the road to take them on again the following night.
The 2018/19 regular season starts for the Eagles with a road game to Golden on Sept. 7, followed by their home opener against the Nelson Leafs on Saturday, Sept. 8.
@SalmonArm
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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