Now in its 11th year, the North Island Eagles hockey program’s alumni game continues to be a great way to give back to the local communities.
The alumni game features old teammates and friends reuniting to form the Eagles Alumni who take on the North Island U18 Eagles for two periods of fast and fun hockey action, and the goal behind the game is for fans and players alike to donate to the Gazette Christmas Hamper Fund.
The 11th annual alumni game kicked off at 6:30 p.m. sharp on Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Chilton Arena in Port McNeill.
The U18 Eagles came out flying early, scoring twice early on in the first period thanks to Jayden Bucci and Christopher Topfer. The Alumni would answer back after that with a goal from Jack Kennelly, but the Eagles were quick to return fire at 14:38 off a shot from Landon Turgeon to take a 3-1 lead.
Erik Kennelly would then score at 13:13 to bring the Alumni within one of tying the game, but the Eagles’ Jack Barrett would find the net at 10:49 to give them back a strong 4-2 lead.
Jack Kennelly ended up converting at 6:25, and then Trent Beek would find the equalizer at 3:58 to tie the game up 4-4.
With the momentum starting to shift, the Eagles’ Zach Spafford would score in front of the net to make it 5-4, and then Barrett would rifle the puck home top shelf to make it 6-4 before the end of the period.
After an intermission that featured the Port McNeill initiation team playing against each other, the game continued with the second and final period commencing.
Jack Kennelly would score at 17:03 to bring the Alumni within one of tying the game, but that was as close as they came to winning. The Eagles answered with a goal from Spafford to make it 7-5, and then they would go on to score three more goals, courtesy of Spafford, William Grant, and Turgeon, while the Alumni were only able to find the twine three more times thanks to Darian Hamilton, Erik Kennelly, and Dennis Foster, bringing the game to a 10-8 close.
This was only the second time in 11 years that the U18 team has defeated the Alumni.
@NIGazette
editor@northislandgazette.com
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