CHL Colorado Eagles

Colorado Eagles Week In Review

Published on December 28, 2009 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Monday, December 21; Schneekloth Named CHL's Player of the Week

(LEAGUE RELEASE - Tempe, Arizona) - The Central Hockey League announced today that the recipients for the Oakley Central Hockey League Player and Goaltender of the Week for the period ending December 20, 2009 are defenseman Aaron Schneekloth of the Colorado Eagles and goaltender Joel Martin of the Odessa Jackalopes.

Schneekloth had points in all three Eagles games during the week, all wins. On Wednesday, the Calgary native scored a pair of goals, including the game winner, leading to Colorado's 8-2 win over Wichita. He had an assist in Friday's win versus Missouri and then scored a goal and assisted on the game winning goal in Saturday's victory over the Mavericks. He finished with three goals and two assists and was a +4 on the week. On the season, the 2009 All-CHL team member leads all defenseman with 23 points (8-1523) and he leads all players with a +22 plus/minus rating (a category he championed last season at +39). Schneekloth has helped the Eagles match their season-high with a seven-game win streak.

Martin won both of his starts during the week allowing just one goal in the Jacks 4-1 win at Arizona on Wednesday (made 28 saves) and then shutting out the Allen Americans on 37 saves in Odessa on Saturday. Collectively, the Fort Worth, Texas native made 65 saves on 66 shots for a remarkable save percentage of.985. Martin's outstanding season thus far has him scattered amongst the league leaders with 11 wins (tied for third), a 2.12 goals against average (first), a.924 save percentage (second) and six shootout wins (first). Martin has not lost a game in regulation since October 17 at Amarillo and is 11-1-2 on the season.

In recognition of their achievements both Schneekloth and Martin will receive a special gift from Oakley.

Oakley CHL Player of the Week Aaron Schneekloth, Colorado Eagles Position: D (Weekly Totals) Games Played: 3 Goals: 3 Assists: 2 Points: 5 Plus/Minus: +4

Oakley CHL Goaltender of the Week Joel Martin, Odessa Jackalopes (Weekly Totals) Games Played: Record: 2-0-0 (one shutout) GAA: 0.50 Save %: 0.985 Saves: 65 of 66

Tuesday, December 22; Eagles Hang On for 6-5 Win Over Rush

RAPID CITY, S.D. - The Colorado Eagles won the first of three big meetings in the next six days against the Rapid City Rush by a score of 6-5. The high-scoring affair pitted the Northern Conference's top two teams and began anything but offensive.

The two teams played an even first period with shots, scoring chances and power play opportunities all nearly equal. The Eagles held an 11-10 edge in shots and a 3-2 edge in power plays, but neither team could find the back of the net as both goaltenders were strong in the opening 20 minutes of play.

In stark contrast, the second period turned out to be the most wide-open period in Eagles history as the teams combined for eight goals (a franchise record). Colorado jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with a pair of goals from the second line in the first minute of play. Ryan McLeod scored 34 seconds in, and Ed McGrane beat Miguel Beaudry 20 seconds later -- both goals being snapped home from the right circle.

Jay Birnie, playing in his first game of the season after coming off the IR earlier in the day, then made it 3-0 at 9:03 when he scored from the slot. But the Rush countered with two quick goals of their own to make it 3-2. Luke Erickson got the home team on the board by putting home a rebound for a power-play tally at 11:55, and just 35 seconds later, Scott Wray knocked in another rebound goal off a Rapid City rush.

But the goals kept coming, and Steve Haddon put the Eagles back up by two at 13:49 with the team's third shorthanded goal in as many games when he beat Beaudry on a breakaway; the play occurred with the Rush on a 4-on-3 advantage. McGrane won the faceoff in his own end and Jason Beatty sent the puck up ice where Haddon won a footrace to earn the breakaway at the opposite blue line.

But just over a half minute later, Rapid City converted on the power play to again make it a one-goal contest when Jamie VanderVeeken 's shot from high in the right circle was deflected past Andrew Penner, giving Wray his second goal of the period. McGrane then countered with his second of the stanza 45 seconds later to finish the scoring flurry when he was able to put the puck past the Rush netminder on a second swipe from in front.

Colorado them made it 6-3 at 4:23 of the third period when Riley Nelson sent a pass to Kevin Ulanski behind the Rapid City defense and the CHL's leading scorer was able to put his own rebound past Beaudry from the goal line to the left of the net.

But the Rush kept coming, and they scored another pair of quick goals just 14 seconds apart to trim the Eagles' lead to just 1. The first came at 8:24 when Colorado failed to clear the puck up the right wing boards and Dave Grimson threw it toward the slot where Brendon Hodge beat Penner. Derek LeBlanc then took advantage of a faceoff win in the left circle with a spinning shot from the low slot that trickled through the Eagles' goalie's 5-hole.

But Colorado would come out victorious as they killed Rapid City's seventh power play of the night as time wound down, increasing their winning streak to eight games (tying the third-longest streak in team history). The win -- Penner's ninth in a row (also tied for the third-longest in team history) -- put the Eagles' netminder into a tie on the team's all-time wins list with 43 victories (Paulo Colaiacovo).

Wednesday, December 23; McClelland Earns Spot as All-Star Team Coach

(LEAGUE RELEASE - Tempe, Arizona) - The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced today the coaching staffs for the 2010 CHL All-Star Game scheduled for Wednesday, January 13, 2010 in Laredo, Texas at the Laredo Entertainment Center. This year's format features an all-star team representing South Texas (comprised of players from Laredo, Corpus Christi and Rio Grande Valley) taking on a team of CHL All-Stars (comprised of players from the remaining 12 teams). Leading the CHL team will be Colorado's Kevin McClelland and leading the South Texas team will be Laredo's Terry Ruskowski with help from assistant co-coaches Brent Hughes from the Corpus Christi IceRays and Chris Brooks from the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

McClelland will coach in the game for the second consecutive season thanks to his team's.820 win percentage through Tuesday's games. The Eagles have won eight straight games and currently lead the Northern Conference. Last season, McClelland coached the Colorado Eagles team in the All-Star Game that featured the unique format of the host team, the Eagles, taking on a team of CHL All-Stars. Colorado and McClelland won the game 8-4 in the Budweiser Events Center. The Eagles coach is in his second season with the team and his fifth in the CHL. He has compiled an impressive 165-96-20 record during his combined time with the Eagles and the Mississippi RiverKings.

Ruskowski is in his eighth season with the Bucks coaching in his third All-Star Game. For both Hughes and Brooks, it will be their first CHL All-Star Game appearances as coaches.

The playing roster for the teams will be announced beginning on Monday, December 28 with the announcement of the South Texas starters and the CHL All-Stars will be announced on Tuesday, December 29.

Friday, December 25; Saturday's Eagles, Rush Game Postponed

LOVELAND, Colo. - Due to inclement weather and the associated safety and travel concerns, the Colorado Eagles have postponed their Central Hockey League game scheduled against the Rapid City Rush at the Budweiser Events Center on Saturday, Dec. 26.

The two teams are still planning on playing Sunday's game scheduled to take place in Loveland at 7:05 p.m. A makeup date for Saturday's game will be determined at a later time.

"The Colorado Eagles, along with the Rapid City Rush and the Central Hockey League, determined that the risk of travel was too great for Saturday's game to go on as scheduled," said Colorado Eagles president & general manager, Chris Stewart. "At this point, we fully look forward to playing Sunday night's game at the Budweiser Events Center at 7:05 p.m."

Sunday, December 27; Rush Kill Eagles' Winning Streak

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Rapid City Rush defeated the Colorado Eagles, 5-2, to stop Colorado's eight-game winning streak. The Rush, who entered the game with the CHL's top penalty-killing unit, successfully killed all seven of the Eagles' man-advantage chances in the second showdown in a row between the top two clubs in the Northern Conference.

Rapid City added a shorthanded goal and two power-play scores of their own as special teams led them to their second win in a row at the Budweiser Events Center; previously, the Rush had never won at the BEC.

The Rush showed why their penalty kill is ranked No. 1 in the league by keeping the Eagles off the board despite a 4-0 advantage in power plays during the first period. They were so effective that, despite often being down a man, they held a 13-11 edge in shots as well.

Colorado had several quality chances just miss in the opening stanza, and the Rush took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission by taking advantage of two Eagles miscues. Brendon Hodge opened the scoring at 5:02 when he was left alone in the slot and Derek LeBlanc found him at the right hashes with a pass from the right corner.

Jamie VanderVeeken then picked up the Rush's second score at 18:46 of the first with an odd goal that resulted from Andrew Penner misplaying a Rapid City shorthanded clearing dump. The defenseman sent the puck up the right wing wall and out of his own zone, and the puck bounced toward the net where it snuck between the legs the Eagles' goalie and just over the goal line.

Colorado got on the scoreboard 2:25 into the second period when Steve Haddon sent a nifty pass to Fraser Filipic, who cut across the doorstep and put the puck behind Miguel Beaudry. But the Rush added two power-play goals before the second intermission to take a 4-1 lead into the third period.

Rapid City's first second period goal came at 4:54 when LeBlanc and Rich Hansen played pass behind the Eagles' net before LeBlanc made his way in front and snapped a shot past Penner on the stick side. Jon Pelle got the next goal on a power-play late in the frame when he wound up and fired a shot from the right circle just inside the left post.

Ryan Tobler cut the Rush's lead in half at the 12 minute mark of the final frame when Aaron Schneekloth carried the puck down the left wing, entered the offensive zone and found the Eagles' forward in the high slot. But that was as much as Colorado could muster, and Blaine Jarvis added an empty-net goal from center ice with 1:13 left to play to account for the final score.

The Eagles will now head to Missouri for a New Year's Eve game as they begin a five-game road trip. Their next home game will be Friday, Jan. 15 against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.

The Week Ahead

Thursday, December 31; Eagles Make First Trip to Missouri for New Year's Eve Date The Colorado Eagles will begin a five-game road trip with a New Year's Eve date against the expansion Missouri Mavericks. Colorado is 3-0 so far against the Mavericks, out-scoring them 18-8. This will be the Eagles first ever game at the Independence Events Center.

Friday, January 1; Eagles Open New Calendar Year With First Visit to Allen, Texas Keeping with the theme, the Eagles will make their first trip to the Allen Event Center when they take on the CHL's other expansion team, the Allen Americans, the following night. Allen enters the week in second place in the Southern Conference with just one fewer point than the Eagles in the overall standings. The teams split their weekend series earlier in the season at the Budweiser Events Center.

Saturday, January 2; Colorado Makes Return to NYTEX Sports Centre The Eagles will continue their three-games-in-three-nights segment of a five-game road trip with their first visit to the NYTEX Sports Centre since the final game of last season's President's Cup Finals. It will also mark the first meeting between Colorado and Texas since the two teams opened the season with a pair of games in Loveland. The Eagles took three our of four points (going 1-0-1) in those two contests.

Notable Numbers

WINNING STREAKS SNAPPED - Both the Eagles and goaltender Andrew Penner had notable, extended winning streaks snapped in Sunday's loss to Rapid City. 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 was on a nine-game winning streak himself, which tied him for the third-longest such streak in franchise history.

NEXT WIN SETS NEW MARK - With his next win, goaltender Andrew Penner will set a new franchise record for most wins in a career (44). He's currently tied with Paulo Colaiacovo at 43. For his Colorado career, "Coco" went 43-17-5 with a.916 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.57 while helping the Eagles to their first President's Cup in 2005; his shutout in Game 5 clinched the championship over Laredo. Penner has gone 43-8-4 with a.913 SV% and a GAA of 2.74 while helping the Eagles to the President's Cup Finals in his first season with the team last year.

ONE-TWO PUNCH - Kevin Ulanski (83 points) and Riley Nelson (82 points) put up nearly identical numbers across the board last season, and the two are at it again in 2009-10. Through 26 games, the first line forwards rank first (16-29-45, +17) and second (16-27-43, +20) respectively in the league's scoring race and again have shockingly similar stats. Both were named to the All-CHL Team last season and both are on this year's All-Star ballot for the CHL team (whose players will be announced this week).

DEFENSIVE DYNAMO - Eagles defenseman Aaron Schneekloth -- the CHL's reigning "Most Outstanding Defenseman" -- was named the league's Oakley Player of the Week last week. Schneekloth -- who was also a member of last season's All-CHL Team and is a likely All-Star selection this year -- enters the week one point behind Alex Dunn for the league lead in points among defenders. Through 26 games, Schneekloth has 25 points (8-17-25) and a CHL-best +24 plus/minus.

BACK-TO-BACK FOR MAC - Colorado Eagles head coach Kevin McClelland will be coaching in the CHL All-Star game for the second year in a row, as the script flips this time around. Last season, 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.

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 28, 2009


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