ECHL Colorado Eagles

Colorado Eagles Weekly Update

December 12, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

Monday, December 5; Maxwell Called Up to AHL

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles, proud affiliate of the NHL's Winnipeg Jets & the AHL's St. John's IceCaps, announced today that forward Tommy Maxwell has been called up to the IceCaps.

"Tommy has been a great presence both on the ice and in the locker room while with our team," said Eagles general manager & head coach Chris Stewart. "His stated goal has always been to return to the AHL and we wish him all the best in doing so."

Maxwell (6-foot-2, 200-pounds), who has spent most of his career in the AHL, played in 15 games for the Eagles this season, accumulating five points (1-4-5) -- including his first goal last night -- and 69 penalty minutes.

Monday, December 5; Eagles Win Pair of Game Ops Awards

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles Game Operations and Video Services departments took home a couple of lofty honors this morning when it was announced on GameOps.com -- a leading Web site in the sports entertainment industry -- that the team was named the winner for the best "Team Operations" and "Introductions" in 2011.

The site has been recognizing teams for their excellence in game operations with such awards since 2001 and currently doles out eight different awards. Teams from all levels of sports are considered for the annual honors, with other winners this year being the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Entertainment Group) & the Boston Bruins (Game Promotion).

Wednesday, December 7; Eagles Score Four Unanswered in 4-2 Win Over Idaho

BOISE, Idaho - The Colorado Eagles, making their first trip to Idaho, defeated the Steelheads, 4-2, in the first of three games there this week. Idaho scored the game's first two tallies, but Colorado, playing with just 14 skaters, reeled off four unanswered goals and reeled in a win over the Steelheads.

Friday, December 9; Eagles Net Point in Shootout Loss to Steelheads

BOISE, Idaho - The Idaho Steelheads defeated the Colorado Eagles, 5-4, in a shootout as the teams met for the second time in this week's three-game set. Playing with just 14 skaters again, the Eagles fell behind 2-0 early -- again -- before coming back to force overtime and earn a point in the shootout loss.

Saturday, December 10; Ulanski Hat Trick Paces Eagles in 5-1 Win Over Idaho

BOISE, Idaho - A short-benched Colorado Eagles team defeated the Idaho Steelheads, 5-1, behind the strength of a Kevin Ulanski hat trick. The match-up was the third in four days between the two teams. Kyle Jones saw his first action of the series, and reversed his less than stellar numbers against the Steelheads this season by stopping 32 of 22 shots.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday, Dec. 14, Friday, Dec. 16 & Saturday, Dec. 17; Eagles & Grizzlies Battle For Second Place in the Mountain Division

Colorado & Utah enter the week tied for 2nd place in the Mountain Division, each with 27 points after 23 games and a .587 winning percentage. The similarities don't stop there. Through 6 meetings so far, the Eagles are 2-2-2, and the teams have played to three shootouts. This week's three-game set represents nearly half of the seven match-ups between the teams this month, and chips away at the 13 total match-ups this season (the most Colorado faces any opponent). While the teams are strikingly similar statistically, they've come by their records in different ways. The Eagles lead the ECHL in goals-per-game (3.70), while the Grizzlies rank 5th in goals-allowed-per-game (2.83).

NOTABLE NUMBERS

EVENLY MATCHED - The Eagles and Grizzlies enter the week extremely evenly matched. Through 23 games, they're tied for 2nd in the Mountain Division with 27 points and identical winning percentages (.587). Through 6 games against each other, Colorado is 2-2-2, good for a .500 record and six of a possible 12 points. Furthermore, all but one of the match-ups has been decided by a single goal, and the other was decided by two tallies; three of the six games have gone to a shootout.

GRIZZCEMBER - The Eagles have just four home games on their December schedule, and all of them have been or will be against the Grizzlies. In all, Colorado will play seven of its 15 games this month against Utah. That means that December alone will take up a good chunk of the Eagles & Grizzlies 13 overall meetings -- the most Colorado will face any opponent.

MOUNTAIN MANEUVERING - This month will have a big impact on early division rankings as the Eagles take on each of their three Mountain Division foes in 13 of their 15 games. Colorado will face Utah seven times, and Idaho & Alaska three times each. Entering the month, the Eagles were 3-2-1 within the division; so far they're 3-1-2 in December.

LONG ROAD AHEAD - Just four of Colorado's 15 games in December will be played at the Budweiser Events Center, and two of them have already taken place. The Eagles are in the midst of a five-game road swing that started in Idaho last week and ends in Utah this week. They'll play in Las Vegas and California next week, and end the calendar year in Alaska.

SOARING ABOVE THE REST - A pair of dynamic Eagles duos have soared to the top of the ECHL's statistical rankings. Jack Combs & Chad Costello are rank 1st & 2nd in the league with 37 & 36 points respectively, while Jon Landry & Aaron Schneekloth rank 1st and 2nd among defensemen with 22 and 21 points respectively.

CELEBRATING 200 - Kevin Ulanski played in his 200th game as an Eagle on Saturday night, and he celebrated the milestone in grand fashion. The veteran forward scored three goals on three shots, registering his 5th hat trick as an Eagle -- and his first ever in the ECHL -- to go along with an assist and a +3 rating. In 200 games with Colorado, the 2009-10 CHL MVP has recorded 297 points (97-200-297), a +122 plus/minus & 25 game-winning goals (including one on Saturday night).

OTHER HAPPENINGS

Holiday Store - Time's running out to give the loved ones in your life the gift of Eagles Hockey this year, but don't worry, we've made it easy! We've once again opened a seasonal store at the Foothills Mall in Ft. Collins, giving Eagles fans another place to purchase team merchandise, tickets, and more. The store (located in the old Lady Foot Locker location) is open now and will close on Dec. 31. (http://www.coloradoeagles.com/news.php?nid=1110)

Digital EaglesINSIDER - Every month we produce a FREE, magazine-style game program and hand out 500 per game night at the Budweiser Events Center. For those of you who can't make it to the games, we'll upload each EaglesINSIDER from the season and post them on our Web site as pdf files. (http://www.coloradoeagles.com/news.php?nid=1142)

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 12, 2011


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