Colorado Survives Wrobel, Aces
April 6, 2002 - West Coast Hockey League (WCHL)
Colorado Gold Kings News Release
Colorado Springs, CO - The Colorado Gold Kings shook off a sluggish first period and dominated the remaining 40 minutes of play in a 6-4 win over the Anchorage Aces before a crowd of 6,122 at the Colorado Springs World Arena.
The Aces took the early lead in the opening frame, as J.J. Wrobel beat Colorado netminder Kirk Daubenspeck with a wrist shot glove side. R.J. Enga provided a quick reply with his 45th goal on a power play for the Gold Kings with a one-timer from the left circle at the 12:23 mark. Anchorage regained the lead later in the period with back-to-back goals just 1:48 apart. Tobin Praznik beat Daubenspeck top shelf and Wrobel found the five-hole for his second goal of the night and a 3-1 Anchorage lead after the opening 20 minutes. The Aces outshot the Gold Kings 14-7 in the first period but would be on the wrong end of a 30-14 margin thereafter.
Tom Perry closed the gap to 3-2 on Colorado's first shift of the second period, then Chad Cabana deflected the equalizer past Aces goaltender Parris Duffus three minutes later, chasing the Denver native, who was replaced by Jamie McCaig at the 3:43 mark. Greg Schmidt solved McCaig with a wrist shot from the high slot that gave the Gold Kings their first lead of the night at 4-3 with barely a minute left in the period. With 30 seconds left in the frame, Craig Lyons beat McCaig with a slap shot from the right circle that increased Colorado's edge to 5-3 heading into the final 20 minutes.
With Duffus back between the pipes and holding the Gold Kings in check despite 19 third period shots, Wrobel slid the puck between Daubenspeck's legs in a man advantage situation to complete his hat trick and pull the Aces within a single goal at 15:50 of the final frame. Duffus headed for the bench with less than a minute to play in favor of an extra skater, but Lyons scored his second goal of the night from neutral ice to seal the victory with 16 seconds left in the game.
The Gold Kings, who have beaten Anchorage nine straight times, and Aces return to the ice for the final game of the regular season on Sunday, April 7th, when the game once again will start at 7:30 p.m. MST at the Colorado Springs World Arena. Jack Michaels calls the play-by-play for Colorado's games, all of which are broadcast live on KKCS-AM Hot Talk 1460.
West Coast Hockey League Stories from April 6, 2002
- Colorado Survives Wrobel, Aces - Colorado Gold Kings
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