Colorado Eagles Win Turner Trophy
Published on May 11, 2011 under Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release
TEMPE, AZ (May 11, 2011) - The Colorado Eagles have won the Turner Trophy as the Central Hockey League's Turner Conference champions for 2010-11, claiming the title with a thrilling 1-0 victory over the 2010 CHL Champion Rapid City Rush in Game 7 of their best-of-7 series at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Arena on Wedmesday night.
The Eagles will play in the CHL Finals for the fifth time in their eight year franchise history looking to win their third CHL Championship. Colorado won the Ray Miron Presidents' Cup in 2005 and 2007 beating the Laredo Bucks both seasons and were runners-up in 2008 (Arizona) and 2009 (Texas).
The path for the Eagles to the CHL Finals went through the Rapid City Rush, Missouri Mavericks and Quad City Mallards. In the Opening Round, the Eagles defeated the Flock 3-1 in their best-of-5 series and then in the Turner Conference Semi Finals defeated the Mavs 3-1 in their best-of-5 series. In the conference finals, the Eagles moved past the Rush with a 4-3 series win.
In his sixth season as Eagles head coach, Chris Stewart will coach the team in his fourth Finals with Colorado and fifth overall (Huntsville, 1999 CHL Champions). Stewart coached the Eagles in their first five seasons as a franchise, winning the Cup in 2005 and 2007 before stepping away from behind the bench for two seasons. Currently third on the CHL's all-time wins list with 415 regular season victories, Stewart returned to the coaching ranks prior to the 2010-11 season.
During the 2010-11 regular season, the Eagles finished tied for first in the Turner Conference with the Rapid City Rush posting a 40-22-4 record (84 points) but lost the tiebreaker to the Rush who were the top seed in the Turner Conference playoffs despite having the same record as the Eagles.
The Eagles will face-off against the N. Thomas Berry Trophy winning Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in the Ray Miron Presidents' Cup Finals.
The Turner Conference and Turner Trophy is named for Joseph Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario who played professionally with the Detroit Red Wings before serving in World War II with the United States Army. Turner was killed on December 13, 1944 in Belgium during battle. Turner drew distinction as an amateur goaltender in the Michigan-Ontario amateur league playing on teams in Detroit and Windsor.
Follow all the CHL playoff news, notes and happenings on www.centralhockeyleague.com and at the CHL's Playoff Headquarters.
Central Hockey League Stories from May 11, 2011
- Colorado Eagles Win Turner Trophy - CHL
- Rush Season Ends with 1-0 Loss in Game #7 - Rapid City Rush
- Colorado to Face Bossier-Shreveport in Fifth Trip to CHL Finals - Colorado Eagles
- Eagles Advance to Presidents' Cup Finals in Dramatic Fashion - Colorado Eagles
- Mallards Suspend Operations - Quad City Mallards
- RiverKings Fans/Clark Beverage Back the Hounds - Mississippi RiverKings
- Mudbugs Announce President's Cup Final Home Dates - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
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.
