Colorado Beats Arizona 3-2 in OT
February 10, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release
LOVELAND, Colo. - True to the history of Colorado and Arizona match-ups, the Eagles squeaked out a 3-2 overtime win in another close contest. Every game except one between the two teams this year has now been decided by just one goal, and that lone outlier was decided by a whole two tallies. Eagles defenseman Erik Adams played a part in all three Colorado goals (with a goal and two assists) and Sebastien Laplante was strong in net to help the Eagles come away on top.
Arizona used their second-ranked power play to jump out to a 2-0 first period lead. The first goal came at 3:18 when Alex Leavitt - stationed along the left-wing boards - passed to Daniel Laperriere at the point. Laperriere one-timed a shot through traffic in front and past Laplante. The Sundogs' second power play goal came at 11:11 and was almost identical to the first. The Eagles had two unsuccessful chances on the man-advantage in the period and were plagued by numerous odd bounces and bad breaks.
The Eagles clawed back with two goals and some key saves in the second to even up the contest. The first goal came 6:14 in when Dave Iannazzo took a shot that was deflected by Riley Nelson down low and bounced back between the circles. Adams skated through the slot, picked up the puck and threw it past Robert McVicar. Laplante did his part to keep the Sundogs off the scoreboard when he stopped Tyler Liebel, not once, but twice on breakaways midway through. The Eagles had a chance to even the period on the power play as the period came to a close but they were unable to convert. But with just 22 seconds left, Seth Leonard dug the puck out of the low right-wing boards and passed it to Iannazzo high in the right circle. Iannazzo sent a rising shot toward the Arizona net and it deflected off a defenseman's stick and down past McVicar.
Laplante stepped up in the third to keep the game tied and force overtime as the Sundogs out-shot the Eagles 16-8, but failed to beat the Eagles new netminder. Laplante bailed out Adams after the defenseman tried to take the puck on his own into the Sundogs' zone, resulting in his man breaking in free the other way. And with just over seven minutes left in the period, Laplante stopped a back-door chance on the penalty kill. Then, with the Eagles on the power play, he stopped a short-handed rush late in the period.
Just 38 seconds into the overtime period, Jon Landry was called for tripping, giving the Eagles a 4-on-3 advantage. At 1:29, Brad Williamson threw the puck on net from the top of the left circle and it deflected over McVicar's shoulder where Ed McGrane swept it into the net on his back-hand for the game-winner.
With the combination of Colorado winning both of their games over the weekend and Rocky Mountain losing their two, the Eagles trail the Rage by just five points with a home-and-home series coming up midweek.
Central Hockey League Stories from February 10, 2008
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- Ice Bats Sweep Their Way into Playoff Contention - Austin Ice Bats
- Hounds Finish Series On High Note With Win Over Kings - Youngstown SteelHounds
- 'Bugs Drop Second Straight to Brahmas - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- SteelHounds shutout RiverKings 4-0 - Mississippi RiverKings
- Bucks And Bats Part Three Today - Laredo Bucks
- Colorado Beats Arizona 3-2 in OT - Colorado Eagles
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