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AHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Burned by Heat in 5-2 Season-Opening Loss

October 5, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


LOVELAND, CO. - The Stockton Heat scored three goals in the second period, including a shorthanded tally, as they raced to a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Eagles on Friday. The Heat held Colorado 0-for-8 on the power play, as goaltender Artyom Zagidulin stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced to earn the victory in net.

Stockton opened the scoring when forward Matthew Phillips snagged a rebound off the right leg pad of Eagles goaltender Antoine Bibeau and snapped a shot into the net to give the Heat the 1-0 edge at the 13:18 mark of the first period. Colorado would outshoot Stockton, 10-5 in the opening 20 minutes, but a 0-for-2 performance on the power play for the Eagles would send the Heat to the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

The second period would start on a sour note for Colorado, as Stockton forward Byron Froese would collect a puck on top of the crease and lift it over the shoulder of Bibeau to stretch the Heat's advantage to 2-0 at the 4:43 mark of the middle frame.

An Eagles power play would take a nasty turn later in the period, as a shorthanded rush would set up forward Buddy Robinson to stuff home a centering feed in the low slot to run Stockton's lead to 3-0 with 5:53 left to play.

The onslaught would continue just 50 seconds later when forward Justin Kirkland finished off a 2-on-1 rush with a touch of the puck on top of the crease that would light the lamp and give the Heat a 4-0 advantage, which they would carry into the second intermission.

Colorado would finally get onto the scoreboard when forward Michael Joly collected a pass at center ice and drove his way down the right wing, before lifting a backhander past Zagidulin to cut Stockton's lead to 4-1 at the 11:07 mark of the third period.

Less than two minutes later, the Heat would generate an answer when defenseman Alexander Yelesin stepped into a slapshot from the top of the slot, beating Bibeau and putting Stockton on top, 5-1 with 6:48 left to play in the contest.

The Eagles would have one last burst of offense in them, as forward Sheldon Dries won a net-mouth scramble along the right post and hammered the puck into the net to trim Stockton's advantage to 5-2 with 1:49 remaining in the game.

Bibeau suffered the loss in net for Colorado, surrendering five goals on 24 shots. The Eagles outshout the Heat, 30-24 and held Stockton 0-for-3 on the power play.

Colorado returns to action when the Eagles host the Stockton Heat on Saturday at 7:05pm at the Budweiser Events Center.

Tickets for all regular season contests are on sale now and can be purchased at ColoradoEagles.com or by calling (970) 686-SHOT.

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