Sports stats



ECHL Colorado Eagles

Colorado Eagles Weekly Update

April 2, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Tuesday, April 3; Eagles Clinch Home Ice in Opening Round With 3-0 Win Over Reign; Ketlo Nets Shutout in First Pro Game, Penalty-Kill Goes Perfect 9-For-9

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles defeated the Ontario Reign, 3-0, denying the Western Conference's 2nd place team important points in its attempt to catch the defending champion Alaska Aces, while at the same time securing home ice advantage in the opening round of the upcoming Kelly Cup playoffs by locking up the conference's 4th seed. Rookie Damien Ketlo, signed last week as an amateur, stopped all 27 Reign shots to pick up a shutout in his first start as a professional. He was aided by Colorado's penalty-killers, who went a perfect 9-for-9 on the night.

Wednesday, March 28; Ulanski Wins ECHL's 2011-12 Sportsmanship Award

(LEAGUE RELEASE - PRINCETON, N.J.) - The ECHL on Wednesday announced that Kevin Ulanski of the Colorado Eagles is the recipient of the Sportsmanship Award for 2011-12 as determined in a vote of ECHL coaches, broadcasters, media relations directors and media members. The award is presented annually to the player who is judged to have exhibited the best sportsmanship combined with a high standard of playing ability.

Wednesday, March 28; Nice Guys Finish First: Ulanski Leads Eagles to Win in Home Finale

LOVELAND, Colo. - Kevin Ulanski began the night being recognized as the ECHL's Sportsmanship Award winner for the 2011-12 season, and he ended the night as the game's first star after he helped carry the Colorado Eagles to a 3-1 win over the Ontario Reign in the team's regular season home finale.

Thursday, March 29; Costello & Schneekloth Named to the All-ECHL 1st Team

(LEAGUE RELEASE - PRINCETON, N.J.) - The ECHL on Thursday announced its All-ECHL First Team for 2011-12 as determined in a vote of ECHL coaches, broadcasters, media relations directors and media, who were asked to select a goaltender, two defensemen and three forwards.

Friday, March 30; Eagles' Opening Playoff Round Opponent Will Be Stockton Thunder

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - While the Colorado Eagles were taking on the Las Vegas Wranglers in Nevada tonight, their opening round playoff opponent was being decided in Idaho & California. With the end of the ECHL regular season tomorrow, the Western Conference's final playoff seedings for the upcoming Kelly Cup playoffs were finally decided tonight.

Despite the Stockton Thunder falling to the Idaho Steelheads, the Utah Grizzlies' loss to the Bakersfield Condors locked the Thunder into the 5th seed, earning them an opening round playoff date with 4th-seeded Colorado.

The Eagles and Thunder will start the best-of-5 series with the first two games in California on Tuesday, April 3 & Wednesday, April 4. Game 3 will be played in Colorado, as will Games 4 & 5 if necessary, on Friday, April 6, Saturday, April 7 & Monday, April 9 (listed below with start times).

Game 1: Tuesday, April 3 @ Stockton (8:00 MST)

Game 2: Wednesday, April 4 @ Stockton (8:00 MST)

Game 3: Friday, April 6 @ Colorado (7:05 MST)

Game 4*: Saturday, April 7 @ Colorado (7:05 MST)

Game 5*: Monday, April 9 @ Colorado (7:05 MST)

Friday, March 30; Back & Forth Game Ends in Wranglers' Favor

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Las Vegas Wranglers topped the Colorado Eagles, 6-4, in a game that saw three separate spurts of three unanswered goals. Colorado built a 3-0 lead, only to see Las Vegas' potent offense tie the game. Then after taking the lead back heading into the third period, the Eagles watched the Wranglers net another trio of tallies in the final frame.

Saturday, March 31; Eagles End First ECHL Regular Season With Shootout Win

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Colorado Eagles and Las Vegas Wranglers prolonged the 2011-12 ECHL regular season about as long as they could, but the Eagles eventually ended the game with a 4-3 shootout win. The victory gave Colorado a record of 38-28-6 in its first season in the ECHL and sent the team into their playoff meeting next week with the Stockton Thunder on a high note.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Tuesday, April 3 & Wednesday, April 4; Eagles Begin ECHL Playoffs On The Road

Colorado will kick-off its first ECHL playoff season with a best-of-5 series against the Stockton Thunder. The first two games of the series will be played in California. Colorado went 5-4-0 in the season series against Stockton, but just 1-2-0 on the road, where they were out-scored 9-8. That win was in their first ever game in the ECHL, and they'll be looking to find similar success in their first ever ECHL playoff game.

Friday, April 6, Saturday, April 7*, & Monday, April 9*; Opening Round Series To Be Decided @ BEC (* - If Necessary)

The series will finish up in Colorado, as the Budweiser Events Center will play host to Games 3, 4, & 5 (the final two, only if necessary). The Eagles went 4-2-0 against the Thunder at the BEC this season, out-scoring them 31-28. Colorado has an all-time playoff home record of 39-17 for a .696 winning %.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

REGULAR SEASON WRAP-UP - Colorado finished its first season in the ECHL with a record of 38-28-6, good for 4th place in the Western Conference. Their 82 points & .569 winning percentage both ranked 10th in the 20-team league, while their average of 3.47 goals/game ranks 3rd and their average of 3.50 goals-allowed/game is the 3rd-highest. Their power play (20.9%) ranked 5th, & their penalty kill (80.8) ranked was tied for 13th.

BEC BENEFITS - The Budweiser Events Center was once again an advantageous place for the Eagles to play. Colorado went 21-12-3 at home and 17-16-3 on the road, and only one team scored more games at home than the Eagles' 138. They're home power play percentage was also among the best in the league (23.2%, 3rd). By finishing as one of the Western Conference's top 4 seeds, Colorado will have home ice advantage in the opening round of the Kelly Cup playoffs.

LEAGUE LEADERS - Several Eagles players finished the season among the league's leaders at their respective position. Despite playing in just 47 games, Chad Costello finished the season 4th in points (76), tied for 3rd in plus/minus (+21), tied for 1st in shorthanded points (6) & assists (4), and his 1.62 points/game average was tops in the league. Aaron Schneekloth led all defensemen in points (62), goals (20) & shots (201), while ranking 2nd in assist (42), 1st in power-play points (30 - also good for 3rd among all players), & tied for 1st in game-winning goals (5). Kevin Ulanski was tied for the league lead with 7 game-winning goals. Kyle Jones led the league in wins (31), ranked 2nd in saves (1,373) & 3rd in minutes (2,951). And Alex Penner ranked 3rd in penalty minutes (239).

DURABLE D-MAN - In addition to all of the outstanding numbers Aaron Schneekloth put up on the score sheet in what was arguably the best season of his impressive career, one of the most notable numbers was 72. The defenseman was the only player on the Eagles' roster -- and just one of 15 players in the entire ECHL -- to play in at least 72 regular season games (Mathew Sisca played in 77 due to changing teams), which was even more notable since Schneekloth was coming off an injury-shortened season last year.

THIS WEEK'S FORECAST: THUNDER - The Eagles will take on the Stockton Thunder in the opening round of the 2012 Kelly Cup playoffs -- their first in the ECHL. Games 1 & 2 of the best-of-five series will be played in California on Tuesday & Wednesday before the series finishes up at the Budweiser Events Center. Game 3 will played on Friday, while Games 4 & 5 (if necessary) will be played on Saturday & Monday.

THE MATCH-UP - The Eagles and Thunder played exciting and close games all season, with Colorado holding a 5-4-0 record and a 31-28 edge in goals in the season series. The Eagles went 1-2-0 in Stockton, winning their first ever game in the league there before dropping the past two in a late February set. They went 4-2-0 against the Thunder at the Budweiser Events Center.

BEST-OF-5 BREAKDOWN - In the Eagles' first season in the Central Hockey League they also played an opening round series with a best-of-5 format. They're hoping history doesn't repeat itself, as they dropped that match-up, 3-1, to the Wichita Thunder. They've played two other 5-game playoff series in their history, winning both, 3-1, last year against the Quad City Mallards & the Missouri Mavericks.

OTHER HAPPENINGS

Playoff Tickets On Sale Now - Get your tickets to our opening round playoff series against the Stockton Thunder (starting at just $16). Games 3, 4, & 5 (the final two "if necessary") will be played at the BEC Friday, Saturday & Monday. Tickets are available at www.ComcastTix.com, 1-877-544-TIXX (8499).

Playoff Pep Rally - Lucky Joe's will be hosting a playoff pep rally for your Eagles on Monday night from 6-7. League MVP candidate Chad Costello will be in attendance, as well as Eagles Founder & six-time Stanley Cup champion Ralph Backstrom. In addition, Doc from the team's radio home, 107.9 The Bear, will be on location doing a remote broadcast & live interviews, while helping us give away 10 free tickets to Games 3 & 4 and other free Eagles schwag.

The Boot - Following Saturday night's Game 4 -- if necessary -- head on over to The Boot Grill (located south of the BEC off Crossroads & Clydesdale) for another post-game show. We'll have the upstairs bar reserved and access to the rooftop patio!

Season Ticket Holder Tickets - Be sure to use your blue "Conference Quarterfinals" tickets at the back of your ticket books. The tickets are game-specific relative to Colorado's home games in the best-of-5 series: Game A Game 3, Game B Game 4 & Game C Game 5.

Pre-Game Party - Keep an eye on www.ColoradoEagles.com this week for news about a pre-game party we're planning for Saturday afternoon in front of the BEC!

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from April 2, 2012


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.

OurSports Central