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CHL Colorado Eagles

Biggie-Sized Win, Eagles Score 10

November 25, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


LOVELAND, Colo. - On a night in which the team celebrated its 200th consecutive regular season sellout (a minor pro hockey record), the Colorado Eagles set a new franchise record for goals in a single game with a 10-4 victory over the Amarillo Gorillas. Every skater on the team registered at least a point in the victory against a team the Eagles have made a history of defeating decisively. Colorado's second line led the way with 10 combined points (4-6-10) and five defensemen chipped in with goals in the lopsided win.

Colorado jumped out to a 4-0 lead (on just seven shots) in the first period, chasing Tuomas Lohtander from the Amarillo net just over 12 minutes in. Ed McGrane got the scoring started with the first of two consecutive goals at 2:19. On the goal, Ryan McLeod carried the puck down the right wing and bought enough time for the trailing McGrane to make it to the low slot where he converted the feed.

McGrane got his second score just over eight minutes in on an odd play in which his rebound was put into the net with the help of the Gorillas. McGrane's shot from the left circle deflected off of Lohtander's pads and bounced high in the air and over his head where defenseman James Jernberg grabbed it and quickly put it down as to not get a penalty for closing his hand on the puck. Unfortunately for Jernberg, he dropped the puck into the crease where the Gorillas' goaltender backed into it and nudged it over the goal line. McGrane dived to fully nudge it over the line with his stick just in case.

Then, just 43 seconds later, Aaron Schneekloth made it 3-0 with a power-play goal when both he and his fellow defenseman pinched on the play. Jim Jackson carried the puck down the left wing and sent a pass from low in the circle to Schneekloth at the right side of the crease.

Felipe Larranaga got another goal for the defensive corps just over 12 minutes in with a shot just under the crossbar from between the hash marks. Fraser Filipic made a nice assist on the play, just inside the blue line, feeding the defenseman who entered the game with the highest shooting percentage in the league from the back end.

The Eagles continued to pour it on in the second, scoring five more goals, with the first two coming from the second line and the final three again coming from defensemen. Brett Lutes made it 5-0 at 3:34 of the second when he knocked in an arcing pass from McLeod as it met the ice near the left post.

Jake Morissette finally got the Gorillas on the board at 5:22 when he one-timed a shot past Andrew Penner from the slot off a pass from Stuart MacRae low in the left circle. But just over a minute later, the second line was at it again for the Eagles. McGrane won a faceoff in the right circle and Lutes fought his way through the circle to gain possession before finding McLeod all alone below the left circle for a 6-1 lead.

And 48 seconds after that, Jason Lundmark's shot from the left point beat Brown's glove hand, finding the net just inside the right post. Brett Thurston made it 8-1 (on just 20 shots for Colorado) under two minutes later by putting home a rebound from the doorstep.

And just 65 seconds after that, Jason Beatty made it 9-1 when his shot from the point was deflected past the Amarillo netminder. The ninth goal against Amarillo tied a team record for most goals in a game, and marked the fourth time they've scored that many against the Gorillas -- the third in the past year.

Austin Sutter made it 9-2 for the road team at 13:39 when he converted a backhand pass from Jason Beeman below the goal line. And 16 minutes in, a potential record-setting 10th goal was waived off when Ryan Tobler's tip-in was ruled to have happened with a high stick. The goal was reversed after the linesemen and referee conferred. Replays showed the goal should have stood.

Amarillo out-scored Colorado 2-1 in the final frame, but the Eagles scored the only goal that mattered when Alex Penner set a new franchise record with the team's 10th goal of the game. The record-setting tally came off a Steve Haddon rebound from low in the right circle. Gordon Bell and Beeman picked up goals before and after Penner's marker, respectively.

The Eagles now travel to Arizona for a pair of games this Friday and Saturday. The double-dip is the first leg on their season-long-tying seven-game road trip. Their next home game will come Dec. 12 against the first-place Odessa Jackalopes.

*Special Note*

With the Eagles scoring six goals, the Wendy's Six Goal Shootout will be valid the rest of the evening and all day Friday (due to Thanksgiving falling on Thursday).

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics



Central Hockey League Stories from November 25, 2009


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