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ECHL Colorado Eagles

Costello's Shorthanded Hat Trick Helps Colorado to 5-3 Win

December 13, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles won their fourth straight game with a 5-3 victory over the defending Western Conference champion Las Vegas Wranglers. Chad Costello scored three shorthanded goals -- all set up by Ray Kaunisto -- to help power the offense and Kyle Jones picked up his 69th win with Colorado, moving into first place on the team's all-time wins list.

The teams skated to a scoreless first frame, but Colorado controlled much of the play, out-shooting Las Vegas 11-6 and gaining possession of nearly every loose puck. Both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play.

The second period began the same way, as Colorado controlled even more of the play, and despite having to kill off a four minute double-minor early in the period, the Eagles looked like the team with the man advantage, generating just about all of the scoring chances. That effort was highlighted by the game's first goal when Kaunisto intercepted an errant Mitch O'Keefe pass behind the Wranglers' goal and found Costello for a wraparound tally.

With Colorado back on the penalty kill midway through the second period Kaunisto & Costello teamed up again to make it 2-0. The play started when a Wrangler's shot ended up striking his own teammate, and as several bodies converged to find the puck in the middle of the Eagles' defensive zone, Costello snuck into the neutral zone where he received the breakaway pass from Kaunisto.

Costello skated in on O'Keefe and showed him a series of dekes befitting the league's leading point producer before burying the puck in the net. The Eagles were so dominant in the second stanza that it took another three minutes (until 13:55) for Las Vegas to register their first shot.

The third period saw six total goals, the first three by Colorado to essentially end the game, and the final three by Las Vegas, with two coming in the last two and a half minutes. The Eagles made it 3-0 just over two minutes into the final frame when Dylan Hood and Kaunisto worked a play through the Wranglers' crease.

Less than three minutes later Colorado made it 4-0 when Arthur Bidwill threw the puck on net from the left point and had it deflect past O'Keefe. And midway through the period it was Kaunisto finding Costello again for their third shorthanded hook-up of the game. It marked the fourth time in team history that the Eagles scored three shorthanded goals in a game, just one other time by a single player (Kevin Ulanski on Jan. 1, 2011).

With a 5-0 lead, and less than nine minutes remaining, the game was all but over, but the Wranglers didn't quit. Scott Campbell got Las Vegas on the board at 12:28 -- the first even strength goal allowed by Jones in nearly four full games, dating back to Dec. 1. And the visitors chipped in a power-play goal with 2:30 left and got the game's final goal with just under a minute to play on a back-door play following a faceoff in the left circle of the offensive zone.

The Eagles will take their four-game winning streak to Stockton, Calif. for a pair of games this weekend (Friday & Saturday). It will mark the first meeting between the teams since the Thunder swept Colorado out of last season's playoffs.

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