Lakeland Eagles goaltender Nelson Tallman lunges for a loose puck during the third period of a Dec. 13th home game against the visiting Grande Prairie Athletics. The Eagles went on to lose the game by a score of 8-4. Lakeland’s next home game is Dec. 27 when the team plays host to the High Prairie Regals.

The Lakeland Eagles of the North Peace Hockey League are entering the holiday season in a ‘fowl’ mood. And it’s directly attributed to an extended string of misfortune and bad luck which has seen last year’s Campbell Cup runner-up drop four consecutive games for a disappointing 2-12 record heading into the short holiday break. Lakeland’s most recent tailspin began on Dec. 13 when the Eagles were doubled up 8-4, courtesy of the visiting Grande Prairie Athletics. The game saw the Athletics jump out to a 3-1 first period lead with the Eagles getting their lone marker from Lloyd Ah-Kim-Nachie in the final minute. The second period saw the two teams exchange goals before Grande Prairie busted things wide open with four markers in the third period, three of which came on the power play. Scoring for Lakeland was Steven Cunningham, Travis Chalifoux and Jay Anderson. From there, the Eagles hit the road for a Dec. 13th match-up against Falher where the team lost a 9-8 heartbreaker (see Pirates story below). The club’s most recent loss came Dec. 18 in Valleyview where the Jets handed the Eagles an 8-5 defeat. The game, which saw Valleyview out-shoot Lakeland by a 46-33 margin, saw the Jets build up a 5-2 lead after fourty minutes of play. Lakeland, which got its offence from Jay Anderson and Brett Cunningham, fell behind 6-2 in the third period prior to making it interesting with three straight goals from Charles Laboucan, Ah-Kim-Nachie and Anderson to reduce the gap to 6-5. That, however, was as close as the Eagles would get as the Jets replied with a pair of goals in the final three minutes of play to put the game on ice. Lakeland’s next home game is Dec. 27 when the High Prairie Regals make a visit to H.W. Fish Arena.