Surging Soo Eagles reach .500
It was towards the end of the third week of October and the Soo Eagles were floundering near the bottom of the 12-team, Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League with an unsightly record of 4-11-2.
The Eagles were being held back by sub-par goal-tending, so-so defensive zone coverage and an ineffective power play.
But since then, things have been come together in a big way for the Eagles, beginning with the goal-tending.
Frustrated with his team’s net-minding, Eagles co-coach general manager Bruno Bragagnolo went out and signed American-born goalie Kade Phipps, who had been playing in the Alberta Jr. Hockey League.
And the rookie Phipps, who has a 1998 birth date, has been a saving grace between the pipes since his arrival in the Michigan Soo.
Since joining the Eagles, the slender puck-stopper — who hails from Perrysburg, Ohio, the birthplace of legendary Major League Baseball manager Jim Leyland — has played in 13 of 15 games and has posted a 10-3-0 record to go with a 2.59 goals against average and .919 save percentage.
In all, the Eagles are 11-4-0 since the arrival of Phipps and have surged to the .500 mark with a record of 15-15-2.
And after winning a pair of road games last weekend, the Eagles return home to venerable Pullar Stadium for matches against the Elliot Lake Wildcats and Blind River Beavers this Friday and Saturday nights.
CANADIAN CONTENT
The Michigan-based Eagles feature four players from the Canadian side of the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie — forward Jake Palmerio and defensemen Nick Trecroce, Carmen Scarfone and Nolan Makkonen.
Palmerio is fifth on the Eagles in scoring with 13 goals, 14 assists, 27 points.
Trecroce, meanwhile, has added offense from his defensive post with 0 goals, 17 assists, 17 points.
Rookies Scarfone and Makkonen have 0-5-5 and 1-1-2 totals respectively and played their share of minutes on the blueline.
All four have earned good words of praise from Bragagnolo and Eagles co-coach Jim Capy.
All are of different age.
Trecroce has a 1996 birth date, Palmerio was born in 1997, Scarfone has a 1998 birth date and Makkonen was born in 1999.