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CHL Colorado Eagles

Colorado Eagles Weekly Update

November 15, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Week in Review

Monday, November 8; Military ID Discounts Offered For Sat.'s Game

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles will be honoring our country's military with their annual Military Appreciation Night this Wednesday. For the third year in a row, the team asked its season ticket holders and corporate partners to donate their tickets for the game on Wednesday, Nov. 10 (the day before Veterans Day) at the Budweiser Events Center, as the team fills the arena with military members and their families. The appreciative gesture has again been a great success with all donated tickets being redistributed.

In addition to the military ticket donations, the Eagles will again be wearing special military-themed jerseys when they take on the Rapid City Rush. The game-worn military jerseys will be auctioned off during the team's following home game on Friday, Nov. 12 (proceeds will benefit military veterans in Northern Colorado). This year's special edition jersey will be unveiled that night and on sale at the merchandise counter on the concourse.

The game night will again feature several military-centric details from the off-ice entertainment to special offers for military members from Ovations Food Services. Special food and beverage tokens will be randomly handed out on the concourse to military personnel, and they will also receive 15% off all food and beverages (excluding alcohol) in the Executive Club restaurant on the suite level.

All of the festivities can be seen on Altitude Sports & Entertainment, allowing those that donated their tickets the chance to still see the game.

*Special Offer Extended to Military for Saturday*

Due to the popularity -- and success -- of Wednesday night's ticket donations, the Eagles will offer a ticket discount for Saturday night's game against the Mississippi RiverKings for all military members with an ID. Anyone who shows a military ID at either the Budweiser Events Center box office or the Colorado Eagles office in Water Valley can get a ticket for Saturday's game at a special price of just $16 -- all fees included.

Tuesday, November 9; Jersey & Cowbell Auction This Friday

Eagles Fans,

Friday night we'll be auctioning off game-worn military jerseys and two autographed commemorative Meadow Gold cowbell sets from our first seven seasons. Funds raised from the military jersey auction will benefit Honor Flight of Northern Colorado & the construction of the Veterans Plaza in Fort Collins. Proceeds from the cowbell auction -- and the subsequent sale of individual bells -- will benefit the Colorado Eagles Foundation.

The game-worn military jerseys will be worn by the team Wednesday night when they take on the Rapid City Rush in our annual Military Appreciation Night game, and again during pre-game warm-ups on Friday. Jerseys from nearly every player on the roster will be available in the auction, which will end at the start of the third period.

The two cowbell sets being auctioned have been signed by Ralph Backstrom, Chris Stewart, Greg Pankewicz, Riley Nelson, Aaron Schneekloth, Kevin Ulanski & Andrew Penner. In addition, to help fans complete their cowbell sets, a limited number of individual cowbells from each of the previous seven seasons will be on sale for $20 each (limit two per person) at the Meadow Gold booth behind Section E; cowbell sales will start at the first intermission and will end when supplies run out.

Wednesday, November 10; Perkins Extends "Eagles Win" Offer to Military

Whether the Eagles win or lose Wednesday night, military members will win at Northern Colorado Perkins restaurants on Thursday morning -- Veterans Day. Perkins has extended their "Eagles Win, You Win" offer to all military members for Veterans Day (just show a Military ID or wear your uniform).

Eagles Win, You Win: For every Eagles win -- home or away -- during the 2010-11 season and playoffs, Perkins in Northern Colorado (locations listed below) will offer two FREE Eagles-themed breakfast options with the purchase of a regular-sized beverage. Fans can order either the "Backstrom Breakfast" (a two-egg, everything omelet and two pancakes) or the "Eagles' Eggs" (two eggs (any style), three pancakes, and two strips of bacon) from 5:30 a.m.-9 a.m. the day following the winning game.

Northern Colorado Perkins Locations

Fort Collins: 310 S. College Ave.

Loveland: 2222 W. Eisenhower Blvd.

NEW LOCATION Next to the BEC: Corner of Crossroads Blvd. & Clydesdale Pkwy.

Greeley: 2297 Greeley Mall

Longmont: 2051 N. Main St.

Wednesday, November 10; Eagles Win Second Shootout in a Row

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles won their second shootout in a row with a 4-3 topping of the defending champion Rapid City Rush. The victory extends Colorado's winning streak to eight games, perfect since opening night. Thousands of military members -- both past and present -- took in the action in the team's annual Military Appreciation Night game.

The Eagles controlled play for the first part of the opening period, getting out to a 1-0 lead before Rapid City evened the period in the second half to make it a 1-1 tie after the first 20 periods of play.

Six minutes in, Matt Glasser won a race to the puck down the left wing in the neutral zone, chipped it ahead into the offensive zone and sent a nice centering pass to Riley Nelson for the Eagles' captain's sixth goal of the season. Then, at 14:54, Rapid City evened the score with a power-play marker when Derek LeBlanc took the puck out of the left corner and fed Scott Wray for a sweeping shot from below the faceoff circle that beat Kyle Jones.

After seven penalties were called in the first period, the game continued to see plenty of special teams play in the second. Colorado out-shot Rapid City 13-10 in the stanza, but neither team was able to score. The closest either came to a tally was with 1:51 left when Braden Desmet had a goal waved off due to a quick whistle from referee Timm Walsh.

Jamie Vanderveeken put Rapid City on top 2-1, 2:24 into the third period, when his low shot from the point found its way through a three-person screen and past the Eagles' netminder. But Colorado bounced right back, scoring two goals in the following 46 seconds to take a 3-2 lead.

On the first score (just 15 seconds later), Kyle Peto let off a shot from the right point that was kicked below the goal line to the right of the net by Danny Battochio. But Dylan Stanley was right there to collect it and feed Daymen Rycroft with a back-door pass for a shot into a wide open net. Thirty-one seconds later, Nelson found Steve Haddon on an odd-man rush to put Colorado back on top.

Rapid City came hard the rest of the period, but Jones made several big saves in net. But with just 17 seconds left -- and Battochio pulled for an extra attacker -- LeBlanc was able to backhand in a loose puck from the crease to force overtime.

Neither team scored in the extra frame, leading to the shootout -- Colorado's second in a row. In the shootout, Jones stopped all four Rush shooters, while Kevin Ulanski and Scott May converted for Colorado.

Friday, November 12; Eagles Slipped Up By Oilers in SO

LOVELAND, Colo. - For the third game in a row, the Colorado Eagles had to go to a shootout to decide a game, but this time they lost, 4-3, to the Tulsa Oilers. The defeat ended Colorado's eight-game winning streak, and snapped Tulsa's eight-game losing streak. Tulsa's win was set up by an opportunistic second period in which they scored three goals on just eight shots.

The opening frame saw plenty of special teams play with the teams combining for 69 penalty minutes (33 for Tulsa, 36 for Colorado). The Eagles got on the board first with their first shorthanded goal of the season at 2:27. On the play, Scott May won the draw cleanly from the left faceoff circle in Colorado's defensive zone, knocking it all the way into the neutral zone where Daymen Rycroft won a foot race before snapping a shallow-angle shot past Tyler Sims.

May helped make it 2-0 for Colorado at 9:41 after receiving a Kevin Ulanski pass in the left circle of the offensive zone and delaying enough to find Adam Hogg crashing down the slot for a wide open one-timer on the power play.

Then, at 15:56, a mini-brawl erupted when Chris Hau confronted Tyler Fleck and the two ended up in the corner to the left of Sims. Sims came to the defense of his team's captain -- jumping on Hau's back -- and was soon tangled up with Andrew Penner who had skated the length of the ice to pull Sims off of Hau. All four players ended up receiving penalties, with both goaltenders being ejected from the game (Sims was replaced by Ian Keserich, Penner by Kyle Jones).

Colorado out-shot Tulsa 23-8 in the second period -- tying the 5th-most shots in a period in franchise history -- but couldn't beat Keserich, despite a pair of power plays in the first half of the frame. And after Dylan Stanley had a goal waved off midway through, momentum shifted and the Oilers scored three goals in a span of two minutes and fifty-two seconds to take a 3-2 lead.

Jack Combs got Tulsa on the board at 11:03 after taking the puck down the left wing, cutting across the ice toward the net and backhanding a shot that slipped past Jones. Then, at 13:21, Chad Costello snapped a shot past the Eagles' goalie for a power-play goal -- just Tulsa's fourth on the road all season. And 34 seconds after that, an unchecked Michel Beausoleil put home a Derek Eastman rebound from the doorstep to give Tulsa the lead.

The Oilers continued to carry momentum into the third -- out-shooting Colorado 12-9 -- but the resilient Eagles were clutch yet again, tying the game with 3:21 left. On the goal, Ulanski won a faceoff in the right circle back to Rycroft who had his point shot deflected by May to knot the score at 3.

In the overtime period, Colorado couldn't convert on a power play chance, getting just one shot through and having several blocked. In the shootout, Ulanski was the only Eagles shooter to score, while Combs and Costello converted for Tulsa to earn the win.

Saturday, November 13; RiverKings Continue Reign Over Eagles

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles lost, 4-3, to the Mississippi RiverKings as the now-non conference opponent continued its dominance over the Eagles (Colorado is just 9-13-2 in the all-time series). The Eagles out-shot the 'Kings 34-19, but couldn't get key goals as their struggling power play went 0-6 and Alexandre Pechurskiy made 31 saves.

Colorado out-shot Mississippi 13-6 -- and had several shots blocked -- in a first period that saw the RiverKings take a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game. That shot came 53 seconds in when Nathan Lutz put the puck on net from the left point and it was deflected in the low slot by Chris Richards, beating Andrew Penner up high.

The Eagles controlled even more of the play in the second period -- out-shooting the RiverKings 13-4 -- and were finally rewarded when they tied the game 2:19 into the stanza. Working with a delayed penalty against Mississippi, Kip Workman sent a shot from the right point that evaded Pechurskiy.

Colorado's power play continued to sabotage them as the Eagles had a chance to score on nearly a full 4-on-3 at the start of the final frame, but managed just one shot. And less than a minute after their man-advantage chance ended, Matt Boyd fed Ryan Fetzer in front of the net to make it 2-1 Mississippi -- again capitalizing on their first shot of a period.

Then at 6:39, Workman got his second goal of the game after Braden Desmet's shot was pushed into the right circle where the defenseman was able to step into a one-timer that he blasted past Pechurskiy. But at 11:29, Darrell Stoddard put the RiverKings back on top with a top-shelf shot past Penner from the right circle, making it 3-2.

Fifty-nine seconds later, Colorado's third line continued its strong game when the puck took a weird carom off the glass behind the Mississippi net and bounced into the low slot. Desmet backtracked, waiting for it to settle down, and got off a shot that resulted in his first professional goal and a 3-3 tie.

Just over a minute later, the RiverKings got the eventual game-winner when Lutz scored with a shot from the left mid-boards on the power play. It was Mississippi's fourth goal on 16 shots to that point. Colorado had the chance to counter with a power-play goal of their own 16 minutes in, but the 'Kings netminder made a great save with his right toe on a Steve Haddon shot from the doorstep.

The Week Ahead

Friday, Nov. 19 & Saturday, Nov. 20; Eagles, Rush Meet AGAIN

The Eagles and Rush will meet for the fourth & fifth times on the young season in a series that will see them meet a total of 12 times -- the most Colorado will face any opponent. A short-benched Eagles squad took the first three games against the defending champs, including a shootout win in the previous meeting last Wednesday (during the Eagles' annual Military Appreciation Night game). Colorado has out-scored Rapid City 16-9 so far through three games. The two teams will play their third game in a row against each other next Wednesday (Nov. 24).

Notable Numbers

WHAT'S IN A NAME? - Apparently a lot! Since making the moniker switch from "Memphis" to "Mississippi," the RiverKings have reversed their fortunes against the Eagles. Against the Memphis RiverKings, the Eagles were 7-6-0 with a 4-2-0 record at home. Against the Mississippi version of the franchise, Colorado is 2-7-2, including 1-5-0 at the BEC. Other than Allen (1-2-0 in a limited sample size), the RiverKings are the only CHL franchise that the Eagles don't have a winning record against (a combined 9-12-2).

REMEMBER ME? - Rookie forward Braden Desmet -- who made his professional debut on Mississippi's playoff roster last season -- also had a great game against his former team. Desmet scored the third game-tying tally for Colorado -- picking up his first professional goal in the process -- and helped power a third line that was the Eagles' best in the game. The University of Wisconsin-Superior alumnus ended the game with a team-high three points (1-2-3) and a +3 plus/minus rating (a career high).

WORKMAN-LIKE - Rookie defenseman Kip Workman had quite a night against the RiverKings on Saturday. The University of Manitoba alumnus scored the Eagles' first two goals -- tying the game each time -- and finished with a +3 plus/minus rating (matching his career high).

SLIM MARGINS - Starting with their last-second win against Tulsa on October 29th, each of the Eagles' previous six games has been decided by a single goal (the past three with a 4-3 final score). The Eagles are 4-1-1 in 1-goal games this season; they were 13-6-7 last year.

NEEDING RECHARGED - Colorado's power play has struggled all season, failing to score in five of their 11 games so far and sitting with a conversion rate of 14.1% entering the week (12th in the league). Over their past three games, the Eagles man-advantage has converted on just one of 20 chances (5%).

PERFECT FIRST QUARTER - The Eagles have gone a perfect 3-0-0 through the first quarter of their season series against the Rapid City Rush -- getting each win with a short bench. The rival teams will play a home-and-home series this weekend, plus a third game in a row next Wednesday as they get half of their season series out of the way before Thanksgiving. Colorado won the last match-up in a shootout during the team's annual Military Appreciation Night game.

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