Brian Sutter (rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Dan Hermanutz

Playoff series starts Saturday

Innisfail, Stony Plain begin battle for Allan Cup berth

Feb 21, 2020 | 1:59 PM

The Innisfail Eagles and Stony Plain Eagles do it for real starting this weekend as they battle for a spot at the 2020 Allan Cup in Hamilton and Dundas, Ontario.

With no other Senior AAA teams around this season, Innisfail and Stony Plain have played seven head-to-head games to prepare for their provincial championship series. Innisfail won six of those tilts over their rivals to the north.

“Well obviously you play them seven times you learn a little bit about the opposition,” said Brian Sutter, head coach of the Innisfail Eagles, “even to the point where sometimes you know what they’re going to do before they do it. It’s about how you react and a team and we’ve just added things as we’ve gone along to upgrade and do what we’ve got to do. We’ve gotten better and better as the year has gone on.”

Innisfail has outscored Stony Plain 37-22 in their seven games this winter.

Sutter says his team has been going about “business as usual” in preparation for this playoff series.

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“We don’t try to be something we’re not and we know how we have to play, we know our strengths and as a coach you don’t try to make them anything their not. You try to make them better people and when you do that they eventually come out ahead. Sometimes winners don’t always win the last game of the year.”

Last season Innisfail made to the Allan Cup final before losing to the host Lacombe Generals.

The team founded in 1947 has yet to taste Allan Cup glory and is hungry to end the drought.

“Our goal is to get to the Allan Cup, plain and simple,” said Sutter.

Colton Hayes has led the way for Innisfail this year with 12 points in seven games, while veteran defenceman Joe Vandermeer is right behind with 11.

In net, Kyle Fraser has a .947 save-percentage in three appearances for Innisfail, while Allan York is in at .920.

Game one goes this Saturday at the Innisfail Arena at 7 p.m.