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Colorado Eagles

Colorado Eagles Weekly Update

March 18, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

Monday, March 11; Reigning ECHL MVP, Chad Costello, Returns to Eagles' Lineup

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles of the ECHL announced today that the league's reigning MVP, Chad Costello, has returned to the team after being released from his American Hockey League contract with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Costello is scheduled to be in the lineup Wednesday night when the Eagles start a three-game set against the Las Vegas Wranglers at the Budweiser Events Center and his re-insertion onto the Eagles' roster should be a major boost as the team looks to gain the best possible playoff positioning as the regular season wraps up this month.

After being named the ECHL's MVP last season -- despite missing over a third of the season due to a major knee injury -- Costello worked hard all offseason to rehab and was building on an even better season before being called up to the AHL in mid-December. Through 27 games at the start of this season, Costello was leading the ECHL in points (49) & assists (35). In 74 games (essentially one full season) over the past two seasons with the Eagles, Costello has registered 125 points (43-82-125), good for 11th on the team's all-time points list.

The 5-foot-9-inch forward recorded 12 points (3-9-12) in 21 games with the Sound Tigers before being released from his contract, which allowed him to return to the Eagles, who retained his rights in the ECHL.

Wednesday, March 13; Eagles Power Past Wranglers Into 5th Place

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles defeated the Las Vegas Wranglers, 3-1, in the first of three games between the teams this week at the Budweiser Events Center. With the win, Colorado passed Las Vegas for 5th place in the Western Conference standings with the ECHL's Kelly Cup playoffs just weeks away.

Friday, March 15; Eagles Gain Separation in Standings With 2-1 Win Over Wranglers

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles defeated the Las Vegas Wranglers, 2-1, in the second game of a three-game set between the teams next to each other in the Western Conference standings. After all three of the game's goals were scored in the first period, the contest turned into a defensive duel between Adam Brown (26 saves) and Joe Fallon (24 saves).

Saturday, March 16; Luck of the Irish With O'Keefe as Wranglers Win 1-0; Nearly $30,000 raised for young girl in "Pot of Gold" community fundraiser.

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Las Vegas Wranglers defeated the Colorado Eagles, 1-0, to take their only game of a three-game set between the teams this week. Mitch O'Keefe stopped 28 shots in the game, while Adam Brown stopped 22 of 23 at the other end of the ice in a tough-luck loss. Both teams went 0-for-4 on the power play.

Special Note: For the second consecutive year, the Colorado Eagles held a "Pot of Gold" community fundraiser in which the team's fans helped raise money to aid a local family in need. This year's efforts raised nearly $30,000 for Jaycie Love, an eight-year old girl with leukemia. The team wore special Irish-themed jerseys in honor of St. Patrick's Day which were auctioned off to help the cause.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday, March 20, Friday, March 22, Saturday & March 23; Eagles Look to Improve Playoff Positioning With Set Against Aces

With two weeks left in the regular season, Colorado is looking to improve its playoff positioning by moving from 5th place to 4th place in the Western Conference, earning the home ice advantage in the first round of the upcoming Kelly Cup playoffs that comes with it. The Eagles will be looking to do so against the Alaska Aces, the ECHL's top team. All-time, Colorado is 2-3-0 against the Aces at the Budweiser Events Center.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

RARE BEC BLANKING - Colorado was shutout at home for just the 3rd time in its 10 seasons of play last Saturday when it couldn't get a puck past Mitch O'Keefe in a tough-luck, 1-0, loss. The first shutout came on March 5, 2010 against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, the second also came at the hands of Las Vegas last Jan. 27.

PLAYOFF POSITIONING - With just two weeks left in the regular season, playoff positioning is paramount and points are at a premium. The Eagles enter the week ranked 5th in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Las Vegas Wranglers & seven points behind the Stockton Thunder. Colorado is closer to the Thunder than it appears, however, because the Eagles have three games -- and a possible six points -- in hand. If Colorado can catch Stockton, it has a good chance of winning the tie-breaker(s) and earning home ice advantage in the opening round of the Kelly Cup playoffs.

BEC ADVANTAGE - Entering the week with a record of 46-14-7 (99 pts.), the Alaska Aces are on the verge of winning their third straight Brabham Cup as regular season champions, so it's not like they only have success against the Eagles, despite how Colorado may feel. The Eagles are 1-6-1 this season and 2-12-2 all-time against Alaska, but a closer look shows that they've had considerably better success against the perennial power at the Budweiser Events Center. Colorado is 2-3-0 in five home games against the Aces, with one of those wins coming earlier this season.

SPECIAL MATCH-UP - This week's set against the Alaska Aces features a match-up of Colorado's league-leading power play (22.9%) against Alaska's league-leading penalty kill (87.8%). Moreover, the Eagles have the best power play at home (27.3%), while the Aces have the best penalty kill on the road (88.1%).

KILLIN' IT - Although Colorado's penalty kill is ranked in the lower end of the league at 19th overall, it has improved substantially during the second half of the season, and has been squashing opposing power plays at a league-leading rate. In the 24 games since Jan. 26, the Eagles have allowed multiple power-play goals in a game just twice and shut-out their opponents' power play 12 times (or half the time) -- including all three games against Las Vegas last week. Their overall numbers in that stretch are 100-115 (87%), or .8% lower than Alaska's top-ranked unit on the season.

A 4TH STRAIGHT MVP? - Michael Forney has been one of the ECHL's hottest players recently, which has pushed him right into the mix for the league's points and goals titles. The Eagles' leading point-producer ranks 3rd in the league in both points (71) & goals (34). If voting goes his way, Forney could join Kevin Ulanski, Riley Nelson & Chad Costello as the 4th straight Eagle to earn league MVP honors.

OTHER HAPPENINGS

Fan Appreciation Night - This Saturday night is out annual Fan Appreciation Night! Be sure to attend this one...details coming to www.ColoradoEagles.com in the coming days.

Kids Club Coloring Contest - Hey Kids! Enter our Coloring Contest and you could win a plush puppy in an autographed Wendy's Kids Club jersey, along with your very own Easter basket full of goodies! Click the following link to access the coloring page. Completed pages must be received by March 20th.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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