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ECHL Colorado Eagles

Colorado Eagles Weekly Update

March 12, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

Tuesday, March 6; Eagles Sign Cey as Emergency Goalie Again

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles of the ECHL announced today that they've signed Morgan Cey as an emergency goaltender to back-up Kyle Jones with both Andrew Penner and Robby Nolan on IR. He was previously signed in an emergency role on Feb. 24 and released on Feb. 27 while Nolan was on loan to the AHL's Houston Aeros. Cey spent the 2008-09 season with the Eagles as Penner's back-up, and is the older brother of current Eagles forward Patrick Cey.

Tuesday, March 6; Costello's First Period Hat Trick Helps Eagles Power Past Thunder & Into Playoffs

LOVELAND, Colo. - Chad Costello recorded a hat trick in the first period of the Colorado Eagles' 5-4 win over the Stockton Thunder at the Budweiser Events Center, as the home team clinched its 9th playoff berth in as many seasons -- their first in the ECHL -- with the win. The Eagles scored two power-play goals on the night and Kyle Jones made 34 saves in collecting his 27th win of the season.

Wednesday, March 7; Stockton Splits Set With 6-2 Win

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Stockton Thunder defeated the Colorado Eagles, 6-2, splitting a set of back-to-back games this week. The Thunder scored five unanswered goals starting in the final few seconds of the first period to skate away with the win and inch closer to a playoff berth one night after the Eagles clinched their own.

Friday, March 9; Aces Score Three in the Third in 3-1 Win

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The defending champion Alaska Aces defeated the Colorado Eagles, 3-1, in the first of five straight meetings between the teams, and the first of back-to-back contests in Alaska. Colorado held a 1-0 lead heading into the third period but the Aces were able to come away with the win by scoring a power-play goal and an even strength goal -- both unassisted -- before adding an empty-netter.

Saturday, March 10; Goldie's Golden Goal is Game-Winner in 4-1 Win

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Colorado Eagles fell to the defending champion Alaska Aces, 4-1, dropping the second meeting in as many nights and the second of five straight; the teams will play three more times in Colorado this week. Four different Aces scored in the game, with Wes Goldie netting the game-winner with his 33rd goal of the season, which also marked the 368th goal of his career -- tying the ECHL's all-time record for goals.

Monday, March 12; ECHL's Leading Scorer & MVP Candidate, Chad Costello, Placed on Season-Ending IR

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles of the ECHL announced today that the league's leading scorer, forward Chad Costello, has been placed on season-ending IR due to an injury sustained over the weekend. During the second period of Saturday night's game in Alaska, Costello was involved in an inadvertent knee-to-knee hit that resulted in him leaving the game.

Costello currently leads the league with 76 points through 47 games, with his 1.62 points/game average the best among the league's leading scorers. He also ranks among the ECHL's top five players in goals (4th), assists (T-4th), short-handed points (1st) & plus/minus (T-3rd). He was named the ECHL's Player of the Week for Dec. 11, earned the ECHL's Plus Performer of the Month award in December & was voted one of the league's Silver Skaters in lieu of an All-Star game this year.

Despite two separate call-ups to the AHL this season, Costello also leads the Eagles with 21 multi-point games, having gone without a point in just seven games all season. His standout season has also been highlighted by the first three hat tricks of his career, the league's longest home point streak (17 games) & the league's second-longest road point streak (12 games).

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday, March 14, Friday, March 16 & Saturday, March 17; Defending Champion Aces Make First Trip to Colorado

The Eagles will be looking to play poor hosts as the Alaska Aces make their first trip to he Budweiser Events Center. The Eagles and Aces have faced-off five times already this season, but each contest has been played in Alaska. Colorado has gone 0-4-1 in those games, getting their only point of the season series in a shootout loss on New Year's Eve. The Eagles' usually high-flying offense has been stymied by Alaska's smothering defense, as the Aces have held Colorado to an average of just 1.2 goals/game -- well below their season average of 3.62. The defending ECHL champs enter the week atop the Mountain Division (and the league) with 87 points, while the Eagles -- in their first season in the league -- rank 2nd in the Mountain Division with 70 points.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

POLAR OPPOSITES - While the Eagles' game revolves mostly around offense, the Aces' "M-O" is based on sound defense. Colorado ranks 2nd in the league with 3.62 goals/game, while Alaska allows a league-low 2.33 goals/game. The Aces' ability to keep pucks out of their own net stems from a suffocating defense that allows what is also a league-low 26.02 shots/game.

JUST BE AVERAGE - The Eagles rank 2nd in the league with an average of 3.62 goals/game, while Alaska boasts the league's stingiest defense, allowing an average of just 2.33 goals/game. If Colorado can just split the difference and score three goals per game, this season's statistics say they'll have a good chance of winning. The Eagles are 32-6-5 when scoring three or more goals in a game, but are win-less when scoring fewer (0-17-1).

ABSENT OFFENSE - Colorado has been among the ECHL's most potent offensive clubs all season, but the Aces have yet to witness evidence of that. Even though the Eagles rank second in goals/game (3.62) and have five players with at least 50 points (the only team in the league with that distinction), Alaska has been able to shut them down. In five games so far -- all in Alaska -- the Eagles have scored a total of six goals. They reached their peak with three goals in a shootout loss on New Year's Eve -- one night after being shut out -- but have scored just a single goal in each of the other three games.

SHORT ON SHOTS - The Eagles have been out-shot in each of their past four games, a rarity this season, as they rank 5th in the league with an average of 32.66 shots/game. It's in Colorado's best interest to out-shoot their opponent, as they're 20-10-2 when doing so and just 12-13-4 when being out-shot. The Aces held them to just 19 shots on Saturday night, tying a season low, also against Alaska on Oct. 30.

NEEDING AN ANSWER - Colorado has suffered from a slew of unanswered scores lately, surrendering at least three unanswered goals in four of their past five games -- each time resulting in a loss: four to Bakersfield (3/3), five to Stockton (3/7), three to Alaska (3/9) & four to Alaska (3/10).

TWO STREAKS NEEDING NIPPED - After dropping both games in Alaska last weekend, Colorado has now dropped five straight road games, tying the team's all-time record for a road losing streak. They're also on a three-game losing streak, matching their season high.

MARCH MADNESS - The Eagles will be taking part in their own style of March Madness during the regular season's busy final month. Colorado will play a total of 17 games in the 31 days of March; that breaks down to a game every 1.8 days! This week's three-game set against the Aces will be the only week this month that they don't play four games.

FINAL FOUR - Kevin Ulanski is tied for 4th place on the club's all-time points list with Ed McGrane at 347 points. Ahead of them are three Eagles legends: Riley Nelson (739), Greg Pankewicz (464) & Ryan Tobler (416).

OTHER HAPPENINGS

HAT TRICK SPECIAL - This Wednesday night, be sure to take advantage of the Hat Trick Special! Receive 1 Ticket, 1 Bottled Beer, & 1 Slice of Pizza for just $25 (plus fees).

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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