The first month of 2019 may not have been kind to the Sicamous Eagles, but they seemed poised to turn things around, having begun February with a pair of wins. The odds seemed long for the Eagles when the 100 Mile House Wranglers came to Sicamous on Feb. 1. The Wranglers had shut the Eagles out at the start of January and also bested them 4-1 midway through the month.
The results of the previous games, coupled with a Harley Bootsma goal to give the visitors an early lead in the Feb. 1 meeting, could easily have taken the wind out of the Eagles sails and led them to defeat once more.
It didn’t.
The Eagles tied the game up off the stick of Colton Yaremko, assisted by Josh Olson with six minutes to go in the first period. The Wranglers restored their lead with 60 seconds on the clock.
After the first intermission, back and forth play ensued with goaltenders at both ends of the ice facing no shortage of pressure. Josh Olson solved Wranglers netminder Jakob Gullmes 13 minutes into the middle frame (assisted by Sean Moleschi and Jason Herd); it was the periods only goal.
The third period showed there is no love lost between the Eagles and Wranglers. Two minutes in Jacob Chafe of the Eagles and Darian Long from the Wranglers were both penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Yaremko potted his second of the game at 12:22, this one assisted by Dallas Stewart and Trysten Brookman.
Things got ugly between the two teams at the halfway point of the period. Two separate fights broke out and once the officials broke them up, James Kase Hunter and Jack Olson of the Eagles and Jayce Schweizer and Darian Long of the Wranglers were all ejected from the game. Assorted other penalties for actions outside of the fights were awarded and the Eagles and Wranglers who had not been ejected played on.
The Eagles capped off their win with a Sean Thornton goal (assisted by Jacob Chafe) two minutes before the final buzzer.
Bruised from their clash with the Wranglers, but basking in the glow of victory for the first time in over a month, the Eagles prepared to host the Grand Forks Border Bruins on Feb. 2.
The home team potted a pair in the opening 20 minutes. The first came from Aaron Plessis (assisted by Nicholas Cossa) and the second from Sean Moleschi (assisted by Justin Hodgson and Josh Olson).
The Bruins found their feet in the middle period, with Josh Garlough-Bell scoring five minutes in and then following it with a shorthanded one-man effort again from Garlough-Bell to tie the game.
Colby Sherlock (assisted by Jordan Sheasgreen) restored the home teams lead four minutes before the second intermission but the Bruins replied with a goal of their own.
Garlough-Bell got himself into trouble with the referee in the opening minute of the third period and was sent to the box for cross-checking, giving the Eagles a power-play opportunity. Jordan Sheasgreen capitalized, scoring the Eagles fourth (assisted by Plessis and Cossa).
Justin Hodgson made it 5-3 with nine minutes to go, and the home team skated out the clock, ending a two-win weekend.
The Eagles seem comfortable on home ice and they will stay there for a game against the Summerland Steam on Friday, Feb. 8.
