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CHL Colorado Eagles

Colorado Eagles Weekly Update

March 14, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Week in Review

Tuesday, March 8; Eagles, Nelson Top League's "Best of the Best" Poll Again

WINDSOR, Colo. - The results of the Central Hockey League's annual "Best of the Best" poll were announced today, and again, the Colorado Eagles and team captain Riley Nelson found themselves among the most respected entities in the league. Each year, the league's players, coaches and operational staffs vote on several categories to recognize the best the league has to offer, and once again, Colorado came in first in the voting.

Of the 50 categories voted on in the 2010-11 poll, the Eagles were voted the absolute best in six different areas, tying second-year franchises Allen and Missouri for more than any other organization. Eagles players accounted for four of the team's six first place titles, earning more individual honors than any other team in the 24 player categories. Overall, Nelson accounted for seven of the team's 16 overall rankings.

Highlighting the list of honors was Nelson, who was voted by his peers as the CHL's "Best Overall Player" for the third year in a row. Incredibly, Nelson has never won the league's year-end award as MVP, but should have a good shot this season as he enters the week tied for second place in overall points. Nelson was also named the CHL's "Most Gentlemanly Player" for the second straight season and also garnered recognition as the league's "Best Player on Faceoffs." Kevin Ulanski was the other Eagles player to earn a first place title as the CHL's "Best Shooter in Shootouts."

The Eagles' other first-place winners were Reed Saunders as the "Best PA Announcer" (for the second year in a row) and the Eagles/Northern Colorado came in first (based off a first-place vote tiebreaker) as the "Most Attractive Place to Play" in the league.

Tuesday, March 8; Eagles Comeback Falls Short Against Mavs, Nolan

INDEDEPDENCE, Mo. - The Colorado Eagles fell, 2-3, to the Missouri Mavericks and the league's reigning Goaltender of the Week, Robby Nolan. A two-goal third period was not enough to complete Colorado's comeback as Nolan stopped 28 of 30 shots on the night. Simon Watson led the Mavs' offense with a goal and an assist in a strong first period.

Missouri opened the scoring at 13:07 of the first after Blake Forsyth sent a shot on net from the left point that was kicked aside by Andrew Penner. Derek Pallardy picked up the puck below the goal line and banked a pass of the side of the net to a wide open Watson streaking down the low slot.

Watson's tally marked the third time in the eight-game season series that he scored the first goal in a game. And with just three seconds left in the period, he continued to torment the Eagles when he set up Ryan Jardine on a back-door play for a 5-on-3 power-play goal to make it 2-0 heading into the first intermission.

The Mavs went up 3-0 at 5:48 of the second stanza when Todd Griffith sealed off a Colorado clearing attempt and dropped a pass to Mike Berry, who found Carlyle Lewis on another back-door play. Colorado had chances to score in the second, but couldn't take advantage of a partial 5-on-3 midway through and another power play as the period came to a close.

The Eagles came out strong in the third period (out-shooting Missouri 11-3), netting rewards just 30 seconds in when Matt Glasser got them on the board with a backhander from the doorstep. And at 13:53, Colorado climbed to within one when Kyle Peto's shot from the point on a power-play was deflected by Dan Sullivan in front of Nolan. The Eagles, however, couldn't get any closer despite a continued late push.

Friday, March 11; Nelson, Jones Among Finalists For CHL Yearly Awards

(LEAGUE RELEASE - TEMPE, AZ - March 11, 2011) - The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced on Friday the five finalists for the CHL Most Valuable Player, Most Outstanding Goaltender (Scott Brower Award), Most Outstanding Defenseman and Rookie of the Year awards. After a nomination period by CHL teams, the league front office determined the finalists for each award. Balloting will take place among CHL Head Coaches, team Communications Departments and select media members in CHL markets to determine the winners.

2010-11 CHL Most Valuable Player candidates include Rapid City forward Ryan Menei, Colorado forward Riley Nelson, Missouri goaltender Robby Nolan, Odessa forward Sebastien Thinel (2009 CHL MVP) and Allen forward Colton Yellow Horn.

MVP Finalists

Ryan Menei, Rapid City

Riley Nelson, Colorado

Robby Nolan, Missouri

Sebastien Thinel, Odessa

Colton Yellow Horn, Allen

The finalists for the Most Outstanding Goaltender Award (Scott Brower Award) include Rapid City's Danny Battochio (2010 CHL Rookie of the Year), Quad City's David Brown, Dayton's Jeff Jakaitis, Colorado's Kyle Jones and Missouri's Robby Nolan.

MOG Finalists

Danny Battochio, Rapid City

David Brown, Quad City

Jeff Jakaitis, Dayton

Kyle Jones, Colorado

Robby Nolan, Missouri

The selected player to compete for Most Outstanding Defenseman are Rio Grande Valley's Darcy Campbell, Fort Wayne's Frankie DeAngelis, Tulsa's Derek Eastman, Texas' Jason Krischuk and Wichita's Andrew Martens

MOD Finalists

Darcy Campbell, Rio Grande Valley

Frankie DeAngelis, Fort Wayne

Derek Eastman, Tulsa

Jason Krischuk, Texas

Andrew Martens, Wichita

Rookie of the Year honors will be determined amongst Rio Grande Valley forward Aaron Lewicki, Bloomington defenseman Alan Mazur, Texas goaltender Wayne Savage, Allen defenseman/forward David Strathman and Tulsa forward Gary Steffes.

ROY Finalists

Aaron Lewicki, Rio Grande Valley

Alan Mazur, Bloomington

Wayne Savage, Texas

David Strathman, Allen

Gary Steffes, Tulsa

Additional awards to be determined include Coach of the Year, Equipment Manager of the Year and Athletic Trainer of the Year, as determined by their CHL peers, along with six member All-CHL and All-Rookie teams (voted on by CHL Head Coaches). The CHL's regular season point leader will receive the Joe Burton Scoring Champion award and based on supporting materials submitted from CHL member teams the CHL front office will announce the Rick Kozuback Award winner (perseverance, determination and commitment to hockey) and the five finalists and winner for the CHL Man of the Year Award (for outstanding leadership and contributions to the community).

Friday, March 11; Eagles Prove Their Worth With 6-1 Win Over Komets

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles defeated the Fort Wayne Komets, 6-1, in the highly-anticipated first meeting between the two franchises. Both Adam Hogg and Dan Sullivan scored a pair of goals to help the Eagles to the win that kept them atop the Turner Conference.

Colorado got the game's first goal 2:59 in when Joe Grimaldi found Scott May open down the right wing and sent him on a rush into the offensive zone. May circled behind the cage, drawing Kevin Reiter out of the net, and sent a pass back through the vacated crease for an easy tap-in by Sullivan.

The Eagles made it 2-0 at 13:11 when Hogg netted a power-play tally. Steve Haddon took the puck down the left wing, cut toward the slot and found Hogg on a back-door play. The goal was Hogg's 18th of the season, setting a new career high.

Colorado was dominant in the second period, out-shooting the Komets 14-4 and out-scoring them 3-1. Riley Nelson made it 3-0 at 4:14 when Kevin Ulanski sent a pass from the left wing into the high slot where the Eagles captain used a quick-release shot, and in one motion, blew it past Reiter.

Nelson -- who was announced as a finalist for the league's MVP award earlier in the day -- helped set up Colorado's fourth goal at 12:20. He passed the puck to Daymen Rycroft along the left wing entering the offensive zone, and the rebound from Rycroft's sharp-angle shot went right to a wide open Ulanski in the low slot for a 4-0 lead.

Fort Wayne finally got on the scoreboard 22 seconds later (at 12:44) -- on their first shot of the period -- when Tab Lardner sent a pass from the top of the right circle into the slot for a one-timer by Brandon Warner.

But just over three minutes later, Hogg picked up his second goal of the game just after an Eagles power play had expired when he worked a give-and-go with Adam Chorneyko low in the offensive zone, to the right of the net, before roofing a shot past Reiter from in close.

Nick Boucher replaced Reiter in net for Fort Wayne at the start of the third period, after the latter had allowed five goals (stopping 19 of 24 shots) through the first two periods of play. And at 7:03, Sullivan picked up his second score on a wraparound goal, beating Boucher's right leg. That put Colorado up 6-1 and accounted for the final score of the contest.

Saturday, March 12; Tulsa Topples Colorado, 5-1

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Tulsa Oilers handily defeated the Colorado Eagles, 5-1, on the strength of strong team defense and Ian Keserich's 35 saves. The Eagles suffered from a mistake-ridden game, falling out of their first place tie in the Turner Conference with Rapid City's win.

The Eagles got out to a strong start, netting the game's first goal at 2:16 when Brett Thurston was able to knock home a loose puck after Keserich had turned away Riley Nelson and Kevin Ulanski from in close. But it was all Oilers after that -- for the remainder of the period and the game. Tulsa controlled much of the rest of the frame, out-shooting Colorado 16-9 and taking a 2-1 lead.

Tulsa tied the game at 1 at 6:43 when Jack Combs circled behind the net and fed Michel Beausoleil who was crashing the crease for an uncontested shot past Andrew Penner. Then, with just over two minutes left in the period, the Oilers broke into the Eagles' zone with a 3-on-2, odd-man rush. Jason Beatty whiffed on a big hit, turning the rush into a 2-on-1 that led to a Sean Erickson goal.

The Oilers added three more goals in the second period as Colorado continued to make mistakes that ended up in the back of their net. At 7:54, Tulsa capped off an extended shift in Colorado's zone -- with the Eagles scrambling -- when the puck found its way to Gary Steffes in the slot for another uncontested shot past Penner.

The Eagles had a similar shift in Tulsa's zone five minutes later, but it backfired when the Oilers gained possession and transitioned into a 4-on-2 break that led to Braden Walls backhanding a shot from the low slot to make it 4-1. And with just over a minute left in the second stanza, Anthony Battaglia snapped a shot into the twine from the right circle for a power-play marker that made it 5-1 heading into the second intermission.

The third period was Colorado's best (they out-shot Tulsa 15-3), but they still couldn't get a puck past Keserich and the Oilers' defense.

Sunday, March 13; Help Us Celebrate Our 300th Consecutive Sellout - Over $25,000 worth of prizes to be given away

Eagles Fans,

Our final regular season home game of 2010-11 brings the 300th consecutive sellout (including playoffs) to the Budweiser Events Center as we continue to increase our minor pro hockey record. Come out and help us celebrate #300 before the team sets its sights on another championship run in the upcoming playoffs!

You won't want to miss this game in person, as we're prepared to show our thanks by making sure everyone in attendance walks out a winner -- highlighted by a 100-jersey giveaway! Our corporate partners have also stepped up, helping us dole out free items -- from food to team-signed jerseys -- during each and every stoppage of play. In addition, FREE merchandise (from jerseys to hats) will be distributed throughout the game and commemorative "300th Sellout" t-shirts will be available for purchase.

The Eagles will finish the 2010-11 regular season with four road games; a pair against Arizona on March 18th & 19th, and a pair against Fort Wayne on the 25th & 26th.

More details about playoff opponents and game dates will be announced as they become available. The 2011 Ray Miron President's Cup Playoffs will likely start for the Eagles during the first weekend of April.

Individual tickets for all Eagles home games can be purchased by visiting the Budweiser Events Center box office, calling 1-877-544-TIXX (8499) or online at www.ComcastTix.com. Special group rates are also available by calling the Eagles' office at 970-686-SHOT (7468).

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, March 15; Eagles Close Out Season Series With Rival Rush

Colorado will be in Rapid City for the final meeting in the 12-game season series against the defending champs. So far, the Eagles are 8-3-0 against their rivals this year, but just 3-2-0 in Rapid City. Colorado enters the week in a 2nd-place tie in the Turner Conference, just two points behind the Rush, and with an extra game in hand.

Wednesday, March 16; Colorado, Bucks Meet For One/Only Time This Season

The Eagles will play their final home game of the regular season -- the 300th consecutive sellout in franchise history -- against the Laredo Bucks. It will be the one-and-only meeting between the two teams this season. Laredo enters the week badly in need of points, as they are on route to missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Bucks trail their South Texas neighbor Killer Bees by two points for the final playoff spot in the Berry Conference.

Friday, March 18 & Saturday, March 19; Eagles Hit The Road To Close Out Season, Starting in Arizona

The Eagles will wrap up the 2010-11 regular season with four road games, starting with a pair in Arizona on Friday & Saturday. Colorado is 6-1-0 against the Sundogs this season, including 3-0-0 with a 15-7 edge in goals on the road. Arizona enters the week in seventh place in the Berry Conference, and has likely pushed themselves into the playoffs with their recent pair of wins against the Killer Bees. All-time, Colorado is 25-9-1 against the 'Dogs, including 11-6-1 at the Tim's Toyota Center.

Notable Numbers

TIGHT AT THE TOP - The Eagles enter the week tied for second in the Turner Conference, just two points behind the Rush. That means that a win on Tuesday in Rapid City would put them back in a first place tie with a game in hand on the defending champs. The Bloomington PrairieThunder are currently tied with the Eagles in addition to having two games in hand themselves.

STARTING STRONG - Saturday night's loss to Tulsa marked one of the few times all season the Eagles have lost after scoring the game's first goal. The Eagles are 28-4-2 when lighting the lamp first, tied with Allen (28-3-0) and Rapid City (28-7-1) for the most wins when scoring first. Only Missouri (37) and Rapid City (36) have scored more opening goals than Colorado (34).

FINDING THEIR OWN GOLD - The Eagles have had the better of the Rush this season, going 8-3-0 in the season series that wraps up Tuesday night and out-scoring the defending champs 39-26. Colorado has three active players with a negative plus/minus rating in the series, while on the other hand, the Rush have just two with a positive rating. Each of the Eagles' "big guns" has reached double-digit points (Daymen Rycroft -15, Riley Nelson - 15, Kevin Ulanski - 13, Kyle Peto - 12 & Scott May - 10), while Kyle Jones has been fantastic in net (7-1-0, 1.78 GAA, .948 SV%). Colorado's power play has also been above average, converting on 24% of its chances (12-of-50).

ROAD WEARY - Halfway through the season, Colorado was struggling slightly at home and finding comfort on the road. That trend has swung the other way as the Eagles are winless in their past five road games, matching a franchise record (reached two other times). Colorado hasn't won away from the BEC since Feb. 5th in Odessa. Five of their final six games are on the road.

EXHIBITS A & B - Both Riley Nelson and Kyle Jones are up for one of the CHL's major year-end awards (Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Goaltender respectively). A look at their performance against the defending champion Rush this season illustrates why. Nelson is tied for the team lead with 15 points (8-7-15) in 11 games, including a +8 and three opening goals. At the other end of the ice, Jones has been lights-out with a 7-1-0 record, a 1.78 GAA and .948 SV%.

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