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CHL Colorado Eagles

Colorado Eagles 2009-10 Season In Review

April 2, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Despite falling short of their ultimate team goal -- winning the President's Cup -- the Colorado Eagles' 2009-10 season saw more personal highlights than any other season in franchise history. Getting past the bitter taste of a second round playoff defeat, a look back will provide plenty of positives and perspective on a seventh straight successful season.

Here are some of the on-ice highlights from the Eagles' 2009-10 season:

CONGRATS CAPTAIN - After inheriting the team's captaincy from Greg Pankewicz in the offseason, Riley Nelson made his first weekend as the Eagles' third ever captain a memorable one. In addition to scoring both of Colorado's goals in the home-opener, Nelson added an assist and a goal on the season's second night, becoming the first player to reach the 500-point milestone (203-297-500) in an Eagles sweater.

RACKING UP THE MILEStones - Riley Nelson continued to hit several major milestones early in the year, as he reached the 500-point mark in his Eagles career and picked up his 300th assist as an Eagle as well. Nelson also surpassed Greg Pankewicz's franchise mark for most career goals.

HOT STARTS - Colorado went nearly a full month between losses (Oct. 16-Nov. 15). After dropping the season-opener to the champion Texas Brahmas in overtime, the Eagles won seven straight before the expansion Allen Americans won the second game of a weekend set to hand Colorado its first regulation loss of the year. Colorado's first loss the previous season also came in the second game of a back-to-back set in Mississippi after eight wins to open the season.

NOT MONKEYING AROUND - The Colorado Eagles set a new franchise record with 10 goals against the Amarillo Gorillas on November 25th. It marked the third time in the 2009 calendar year that the Eagles scored at least nine goals against the Gorillas. All-time, the Eagles had scored nine or more goals seven times -- four of them coming at Amarillo's expense.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME - The Eagles completed a very successful -- and lengthy -- road trip (from Nov. 26-Dec. 11). They came away with 12 of a possible 14 points on a seven-game stint away from the BEC that matches the longest they'll have all season.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB - Eagles forward Ed McGrane ties for the team lead in game-winning goals (3) after picking up the shootout winner against Odessa. It was not only a timely goal, but a milestone marker as well. McGrane now ranks alongside Riley Nelson (214), Greg Pankewicz (207) and Ryan Tobler (166) as the only players to score 100 goals in an Eagles uniform.

PLAYING LEAPFROG - Forward Kevin Ulanski's four-point night on Dec. 16th not only moves him past teammate Riley Nelson and into the CHL lead in points with 40 (13-27-40), it also moved him past Chris Hartsburg and Seth Leonard on the team's all-time points list.

SCHNEEKING UP THE STANDINGS - Eagles defenseman Aaron Schneekloth was named the league's Oakley Player of the Week on Monday after registering five points (3-2-5) and a +4 rating over three games. The scoring spurt pushed Schneekloth into the lead among CHL blueliners with 23 points on the season (8-15-23).

WINNING STREAKS - Both the Eagles and goaltender Andrew Penner were on notable, extended winning streaks at the end of the calendar year. The team was riding an eight-game winning streak (its longest of the season and the longest current streak in the league) which tied the third-longest winning streak in team history. Penner is on a nine-game winning streak himself, which ties him for the third-longest such streak in franchise history.

BACK-TO-BACK FOR MAC - Colorado Eagles head coach Kevin McClelland earns the honor of coaching in the CHL All-Star game for the second year in a row, as the script flips this time around. In 2008-09, McClelland coached the Eagles against a team of CHL All-Stars as Colorado hosted the midseason contest. This season, McClelland earned the honor of coaching the CHL All-Stars against the host team by virtue of the Eagles having the league's highest winning percentage at the holiday break.

ALL-STAR-STUDDED - The Eagles' roster is home to five men that will be going to the 2010 CHL All-Star Game in Laredo, Texas. Head Coach Kevin McClelland was joined by voted-in starters Riley Nelson and Aaron Schneekloth, who were later joined by the league's leading scorer, Kevin Ulanski. Equipment manager Tony Deynzer also made the All-Star team.

DECADE OF DOMINANCE - With the calendar turning on 2009, the CHL announced it's first and second-team All-Decade squads and three distinguished members of the Eagles made the lists. Assistant Coach Greg Pankewicz was named one of three forwards on the 1st Team, while Captain Riley Nelson and defenseman Aaron Schneekloth were named to the 2nd Team.

AT THE BREAK - At the All-Star break, the Eagles can claim several top spots both as a team and as individuals. Colorado is tied for first in the Northern Conference with 45 points and has the highest goals-per-game average in the CHL (4.32). Kevin Ulanski (52) and Riley Nelson (48) are Nos. 1 & 2 in the league in points. Ulanski is tied for the league-lead in goals (19). Three Eagles are atop the standings in plus/minus Aaron Schneekloth (+24), Nelson (+23) and Ulanski (+19). Also Alex Penner leads the league in penalty minutes (158).

#1 IN NET - With the victory Feb. 9th, Andrew Penner became the Eagles' all-time winningest goalie. The second-year Eagle now has a record of 44-11-5, surpassing Paulo Colaiacovo (43-17-5). Marco Emond (41), Tyler Weiman (33) and Ryan Bach (33) round out the top five.

HOME SWEET HOME - In mid-February, the Eagles completed a seven-game road trip (their second of the season) and will play their first game at the Budweiser Events Center since Jan. 27. Colorado took 10 of a possible 14 points on their trip that saw them take on some of the league's better teams (Odessa and Tulsa twice, Bossier-Shreveport and Missouri once).

HELPING HAND - Kevin Ulanski is takes an 11-game point streak into mid-February, registering an assist in 11 straight games (17 total). In doing so, Ulanski surpassed Greg Pankewicz's previous record of 16 assists in a 10-game streak and can now claim the longest -- and most productive -- assist streak in team annals.

CHL TOP-10 - With his third period goal on Feb. 19th, Eagles Captain Riley Nelson became the CHL's 10th-highest point producer all-time. He has registered 617 points in his CHL career, 570 of them with the Eagles. At his current pace, Nelson will finish the regular season in 8th place on the list, passing Brian Shantz (623) and Brett Seguin (624). Late last month, the Eagles' captain broke into the top 10 on the league's all-time goals list (currently with 244).

BACK-TO-BACK BLANKINGS - For the second season in a row, the Colorado Eagles posted back-to-back shutouts toward the end of the regular season. Last March 14th & 15th, Morgan Cey and Andrew Penner provided shutouts between the pipes, a feat that was matched by Penner and Mike Mole on Feb. 24th and 26th (the team's only two shutouts this year). Mole's 28-save effort was the 30th regular season shutout in franchise history.

SEVENTH HEAVEN - The Colorado Eagles clinched their seventh playoff berth on Feb. 28th, becoming the fourth team in the league to qualify for the playoffs (following Odessa, Allen and Rapid City). The Eagles have now made it to the postseason in each of their seven seasons of existence.

FLYING TO NEW HEIGHTS - Ed McGrane's three-goal night on March 7th was more than just his second hat trick of the season (and his second in 15 days). His third tally ended up being the game-winner and set a new single season career high for the veteran (36). The hat trick was the 27th in franchise history and McGrane's fourth with the Eagles. It also propelled McGrane to becoming the CHL's Oakley Player of the Week.

BEST OF THE "BEST OF THE BEST" - For the third straight season, the Eagles took home more honors from the CHL's annual "Best of the Best" poll than any other team. Colorado placed in 24 of 46 categories, including a franchise-record 15 first place rankings (33% overall). Among the highlights was Riley Nelson being named the league's "Best Overall Player" for the second year in a row; it was one of five first-place rankings for the Eagles' captain. Aaron Schneekloth "Best Offensive Defenseman," Ed McGrane "Best Stickhandler" and Fraser Filipic "Best Fighter: Pound-for-Pound" were the other Colorado players to garner first-place rankings.

HE'S THE MAN-AGER - Eagles equipment manager, Tony Deynzer, was named the CHL's Equipment Manager of the Year in a vote of his peers. The major, league award is the first of nine to be announced in the coming weeks. Earlier in the week, Deynzer and fellow Hockey Operations partner, athletic trainer Chris Porowski, were voted the league's best duo in the "Best of the Best" poll.

RECORD-SETTING NIGHT - Several team records were either broken or tied in March 12th's 11-6 win against the Oilers. Colorado set a new franchise high with 11 goals, a new high for combined goals in a game (the previous was 14) and a new season high in shots (51). They tied their season high for shots in a period (23), tied the franchise record for most combined goals in a period (8, set earlier this season) and Aaron Schneekloth tied the individual record for most points in a game (6).

CENTURY CLUB - With his second point in that record-setting win over Tulsa, Kevin Ulanski became the first Eagle to reach 100 points in a single season. The previous team high belonged to Greg Pankewicz who recorded 96 points during the franchise's inaugural season of 2003-04.

ALL-CHL - For the second consecutive season, the Eagles made up half of the six-member All-CHL Team, with the same three players earning the honor. Forwards Riley Nelson and Kevin Ulanski were chosen for the second year in a row, while defenseman Aaron Schneekloth garnered the honor for the third straight season.

BACK-TO-BACK - Veteran defenseman Aaron Schneekloth is named the CHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman for the second straight season, becoming just the second player in league history to win the award twice (Hardy Sauter was the other). Schneekloth nearly made it three in a row, but was runner-up to New Mexico's Vladimir Hartinger in 2007-08. Schneekloth has been named to the All-CHL Team and has been an All-Star starter three years in a row as well. This season has been the best of his career, as he's set highs in goals (25), points (64), power-play goals (11) and game-winning goals (6), while tying his career high in assists (39) and plus/minus (+39), with two games remaining.

LATE SEASON SURGES - Veteran forward Ed McGrane is red hot as the regular season winds down! After scoring two goals on March 19th, he sets the second-longest goal-streak in team history at seven games. McGrane scored 23 goals over the final 18 games of the season, including 12 on his streak. His surge pushed him into the league lead for goals with 44 (a career high). Late season surges are nothing new for McGrane, however. He ended the 2008-09 season on a franchise-record 20-game point streak before leading the team in the playoffs with 19 points and 13 goals. He ended the season before that on an 11-game point streak.

MR. MARCH - Ed McGrane's second strong March in a row netted him one CHL Player of the Week honor (March 1-7) as well as the CHL Player of the Month award. In the season's final few weeks (encompassing 10 games), McGrane tallied 20 points (14-6-20), including his second hat trick of the season, three shorthanded markers and three game-winning goals.

ULANSKI WINS MVP & SCORING CHAMPIONSHIP - Forward Kevin Ulanski ended the season as the top point-producer in the league, registering 109 points (34-75-109) to win the Joe Burton Scoring Championship. That feat -- along with his CHL-leading +45 plus/minus rating -- went a long way toward Ulanski also earning the franchise's second MVP Award. He registered a point in 53 of the team's 64 games, including 34 multi-point games.

300th WIN...RIGHT ON PAR - The Eagles ended the 2009-10 season with a record of 42-15-7, good for 91 points. That left them as the #2 seed in the Northern Conferene and earned them a first round bye. Their final win of the season was the 300th in franchise history, leaving them with an all-time record of 300-107-37 in seven seasons. That computes to 637 points (an average of 91 per season) and a winning percentage of .717.

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT - The Eagles ended the season as the CHL's highest-scoring team, with a 4.33 goals-per-game average. Their 277 goals ranked as the most in franchise history, while they also led the league in assists (478) and points (755).

The entire Colorado Eagles organization would like to thank its fans for another great season and for their continued outstanding support.

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Central Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2010


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