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CHL Colorado Eagles

Colorado Eagles Weekly Update

March 7, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Week in Review

Monday, February 28; Colorado Eagles Help Break Ground On Veterans Plaza - Team's Charitable Foundation/Fans Have Donated $15,000 to Project

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles were represented this morning as ground was broken on a Veterans Plaza to be constructed at Spring Canyon Community Park in Fort Collins. The Colorado Eagles Foundation -- with the help of donations from the team's fan base -- has donated $15,000 toward the project's construction.

Most of the funds raised by the Colorado Eagles Foundation were collected through the auction of military-themed jerseys worn in 2008 & 2010 during the team's annual Military Appreciation Game, in which season ticket holders and sponsors donate their tickets to help fill the Budweiser Events Center with military members (past & present) and their families.

When completed, the Veterans Plaza at Spring Canyon Community Park (adjacent to Inspiration Playground, which was also built with the help of a large donation by the Eagles) will recognize past, present and future military members throughout Northern Colorado. For more information, or to donate, please visit FortCollinsVeteransPlaza.org.

Tuesday, March 1; Rycroft's Hat Trick Helps Eagles Into First Place - Team battles back from behind to gain point in shootout loss

WICHITA, Kan. - The Colorado Eagles lost in a 7-6 shootout in Wichita, as the two teams met for the second game in a row and the fifth and final time this season. Fresh off the IR, Daymen Rycroft scored a hat trick that helped the Eagles overcome an early deficit, as the team earned a point that pushed them into the top spot in the Turner Conference. The contest saw a total of seven power-play goals, with Colorado going 4-for-6 with the extra man.

Colorado got the scoring started early when Rycroft blasted a shot past Marc-Antoine Gelinas from the left circle at 1:17 for a power-play marker. But just 25 seconds later, Wichita tied the game after a turnover deep in their own zone turned into a 2-on-1 rush that Steve Kaunisto converted. Each goal came on the respective team's first shot of the game.

The Eagles went back on top at 10:39 with another power-play goal when Riley Nelson stuffed the puck past Gelinas at the right post. But just over a minute later, Alex Penner would be called for a five minute major penalty that allowed the Thunder to grab back the momentum.

At 12:24, Lance Galbraith tied the game at 2 by backhanding a rebound from the doorstep. And Jesse Bennefield got a second power-play goal on the major penalty from a similar spot just 31 seconds later. The Thunder made it 4-2 at 17:06 of the first period after Chris Greene worked hard along the left wing boards before finding Dustin Donaghy open between the hashmarks for a shot past Kyle Jones.

Colorado cut Wichita's lead to 4-3 at 3:59 of the second period when Adam Chorneyko sent a backhand pass from below the goal line through an empty crease and right to Dan Sullivan who was crashing the net. But the Thunder got that goal back exactly eight minutes later when Donaghy picked up his second goal of the game from a similar spot on the ice as his first.

Kory Scoran made it 6-3 for the Thunder at 15:32 when he scored a power-play goal from low in the left circle. But with just eight seconds left in the second frame, Rycroft got his second goal of the night by converting a 2-on-1 rush with Scott May as several players scuffled at the opposite end of the ice with the Eagles working a delayed penalty.

Rycroft picked up his third goal of the game at 4:17 of the third period as he swatted the puck out of mid-air while standing to the left of the crease on a power play. And at 13:53, Kevin Ulanski tied the game with a nifty move through the right circle to create some space for himself before snapping a shot past Gelinas from in close. That goal -- Colorado's fourth power-play marker on the night -- would force the game into overtime.

Neither team scored in the abbreviated overtime session, sending the contest to a shootout. None of Colorado's four shooters were able to put the puck in the net, while Troy Schwab got the game-winner as the first of two Thunder shooters (Aaron Davis was the other) to beat Jones.

Thursday, March 3; Sign Up Now For 2011 Summer Hockey Camps

Stay cool and stay on the ice this summer with the Colorado Eagles and Northern Colorado Youth Hockey summer programs. The expert NCYH Staff will run this year's programs, and be joined by Colorado Eagles players to provide your athlete the best possible instruction to grow his or her skills. Programs run throughout the summer and are offered for all ages and ability levels. Space is limited, so sign up today to "Learn from the Pros!"

Friday, March 4; Eagles Win Nail-Biter Over Bees in 500th Game

LOVELAND, Colo. - In the 500th regular season game in franchise history, the Colorado Eagles defeated the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, 5-4. The win put Colorado in sole possession of first place in the Turner Conference and made their all-time record against the Bees (who entered the league in the same season) 10-1-0. All-time, the Eagles are 334-125-41 through 500 games (a .707 winning percentage). Andrew Penner , seeing his first action since Feb. 15, was named the game's No. 1 Star as he made 31 saves -- several at key moments in the game.

The Eagles and Bees played a fast and furious first period. Despite Rio Grande Valley having a 16-10 edge in shots, it was Colorado that won most of the battles for loose pucks. However, despite the Eagles jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead, the Bees kept battling back by capitalizing on Colorado turnovers.

Colorado got the game's first goal just 41 seconds in when Riley Nelson found Kyle Peto in the high slot for a snap-shot past Jerad Kaufmann. And less than a minute later, Andrej Hebar sped his way around a clutching defender before one-arming a pass back to Alex Penner for a one-timer from the high slot.

At 7:50, the Eagles nearly went up 3-0 when Joe Grimaldi's point shot trickled through Kaufmann and stopped on the goal line before completely crossing. Four minutes later, the Bees cut Colorado's lead in half when Tyler Lehrke stole the puck to the right of the Eagles goalie and sent a pass across the lip of the crease to Tomas Klempa. And at 17:03, Bo Cheesman tied the game at 2 for Rio Grande Valley with a bad-angle shot from the right side of the net.

Colorado went back on top at 18:30 of the first frame after Alex Penner carried the puck around the net and back up the right wing before dropping a pass to Kip Workman for a one-timer that made it past the Bees' netminder. But just 24 seconds later, Kyle Radke answered with a shot from the left circle after Andrew Penner had been knocked down and couldn't get up and set in time to defend it. That goal sent the teams into the first intermission tied at 3.

The second stanza was much tamer, with the Eagles getting both of the goals in the period. Scott May put the Eagles back on top at 6:38 by intercepting a pass and quickly beating Kaufmann's glove with a great shot from the right circle. Adam Chorneyko made it 5-3 at 14:28 when he entered the offensive zone along the right wing and beat the Bees' goalie with a low shot inside the far post from the faceoff circle. Colorado gave the home crowd another reason to get on their feet with a big penalty kill late in the frame.

The Eagles continued their strong penalty killing in the third period, stopping an abbreviated 5-on-3 for the Bees midway through the final session. But at 11:43, Cheesman set up Zak McClellan for a goal from the side of the net to cut Colorado's lead down to 5-4. The Eagles, though, held strong from then on, thwarting a sturdy final push from Rio Grande Valley.

Saturday, March 5; Killer Special Teams Lead Bees to First Shutout at BEC

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees defeated the Colorado Eagles, 2-0, at the Budweiser Events Center, marking the first time the Eagles were shutout at home in their history (regular season or playoffs). Juliano Pagliero stopped 45 shots -- a season high for Rio Grande Valley -- and the Bees special teams were the difference, going 8-for-8 on the penalty kill and 2-for-4 on the power play.

The Bees got the only goal they'd need at 7:47 of the first period when they took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play. With 19 seconds left in an abbreviated two-man advantage, Darcy Campbell sent a pass from low in the right circle to Aaron Lee stationed at the left side of the crease for a tap-in past Andrew Penner. The Eagles had their chances to tie the game, but Rio Grande Valley's top-ranked road penalty kill worked to perfection on Colorado's two power play chances in the first frame.

The Eagles out-shot the Bees 14-8 in the second period, but couldn't crack Rio Grande Valley's penalty kill on three tries. Colorado's best chance came 6:30 in when Riley Nelson's shot from the slot rung off the post, but Pagliero stopped everything else sent his way.

Rio Grande Valley notched their second goal at 1:11 of the third, just 18 seconds into their final power play of the night, when Aaron Lewicki's shot from the left point beat Penner. The closest Colorado got to a goal came at 14:38 when they were able to chip a rebound into the net on their eighth and final power play chance, however, the cage had come off its moorings well prior to the shot.

Pagliero and his teammates continued to stymie the Eagles (despite being out-shot 18-6 in the third), with maybe his best save coming at 17:35 of the final frame when he snared a Kevin Ulanski shot from the right side of the crease as the Eagles employed an extra attacker in a final push to score. That save was the netminder's 43rd of the game, setting a new season high for both himself and the Bees.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, March 8; Eagles Close Out Season Series Against Mavs Colorado and Missouri will close out their eight-game season series on Tuesday. So far, the Eagles are 3-3-1 in the evenly-matched series, where each team has registered five goals in the two games played in Missouri. If the Eagles want to keep the Mavs from winning the season series, they'll need to shut down All-Star Nick Sirota (10 points and two shorthanded goals), Mike Berry (nine points with two game-winning goals) and Simon Watson (two opening goals and a +5). They'll also need to get to All-Star & league-leading netminder Robby Nolan in net.

Friday, March 11; Colorado, Komets Clash for First Time Friday night will mark the first meeting between the Eagles and the former IHL juggernaut Komets. Fort Wayne won the IHL championship in each of the past three years, but struggled with the transition to the CHL, winning just two of their first 10 games and five of their first 20. But since mid-December, the Komets have been one of the better teams in the league and have climbed out of the Turner Conference cellar and into a playoff spot. The Eagles will wrap up the regular season with a pair of road games against the Komets.

Saturday, March 12; Eagles, Oilers Close Out Season Series Colorado and Tulsa will meet for the fifth-and-final time this season. So far, the Eagles are 3-0-1, but have gone 1-0-1 at the Budweiser Events Center where each team has registered five goals. All-time, Colorado is 31-7-3 against the Oilers, including 16-4-2 at the BEC where they've out-scored Tulsa nearly 2:1 (104-53). The Oilers enter the week in third place in the Berry Conference and will likely be the next team to earn a playoff spot. It will be their first playoff berth since 2005 when they were dismissed by Colorado in the first round.

Notable Numbers

IMPROBABLE PERFORMANCE - Saturday night's shutout by Juliano Pagliero was the first ever by an opposing netminder at the BEC; Colorado's been shutout a total of 12 other times, all on the road, through 593 regular season and playoff games. Making his blanking even more impressive was the fact that he stopped 45 shots (a season high for himself and the Bees), the most ever for an opposing goalie when shutting out the Eagles. Several of those shots came on Colorado power plays, eight of which were killed off by the Killer Bees.

SAD-URDAY - Saturday's loss was improbable in another way as well. Over the past five seasons, the Eagles were a combined 73-21-12 on Saturdays, and had never lost more than five times on a Saturday in any of their previous seven seasons. But by mid-December, Colorado was just 3-5-1 on Saturdays with over half of the season left to be played and that stat looked to be going by the wayside. Since then, however, the Eagles had been perfect on Saturdays, going 9-0-0 and keeping the loss total at five...until Pagliero and the Killer Bees handed them their sixth Saturday loss.

TURNER TALLY - Heading into the final few weeks of the regular season, the seedings in the Turner Conference are far from decided. The Eagles and Rush are tied at the top with 72 points (although Colorado has two games in hand.) The PrairieThunder -- sitting in third place with 69 points -- actually have the highest winning percentage (.639) with three games in hand on the Eagles. And the Mavericks are just one point behind them (68) with 56 games played. Quad City (63 points through 58 games) & Wichita (62 through 55) have also clinched playoff spots.

LEAGUE/TEAM LEADERS - The first-place Eagles have several players who have helped them to their place in the standings. Riley Nelson is tied for second in the league in points (80), while Kevin Ulanski is just two points behind -- both have the top two plus/minus ratings in the league respectively (+30 & +28). Kyle Peto has been among the league leaders on defense all season, ranking tied for seventh in points and third in assists. And All-Star Kyle Jones has been strong in net, ranking second in wins, fifth in GAA and sixth in SV%.

MISSOURI LOVES COMPANY - The Eagles and Mavericks have established quite an even level of competition in almost two full seasons of match-ups. Things have been tight this season in particular, with Colorado owning a record of 3-3-1 in the season series that wraps up on Tuesday. Through the seven games so far, the Mavs hold a slight edge in goals (23:20), while the Eagles are 1-0-1 in Missouri, where each team has scored five total times. All-time, Colorado is 2-1-2 in Missouri, being out-scored 15-17.

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