Eagles Capture West Division Crown with 5-3 Win over Aces
April 10, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release
(Anchorage, AK) - A four-goal second period powered the Colorado Eagles to a 5-3 victory over the Alaska Aces on Saturday. The win, coupled with the Missouri Mavericks 3-1 victory over the Idaho Steelheads, solidified the West Division title for Colorado, their first division championship since joining the ECHL in 2011.
Alaska would net the game's first goal on a two-on-one rush down the ice, as forward Justin Breton took a cross-slot pass from linemate Kenny Babinski and fired the puck into the back of the net to give Alaska the 1-0 lead with 7:01 remaining in the first. Colorado would outshoot the Aces 14-6 in the first period, but would head to the first intermission still trailing by a 1-0 count.
Colorado would finally break thru in the second period, tying a season-high with four goals in the middle frame. The scoring would start when defenseman Collin Bowman fired a slapshot from the left point that beat Alaska goaltender Jeff Barney to knot the game at 1-1 just 2:37 into the second period.
The Eagles would claim their first lead of the game 2:19 later when forward Kyle Ostrow unleashed a wrist shot from the bottom of the circle to light the lamp and give Colorado the 2-1 advantage.
Alaska would answer back when forward Peter Sivak slammed home a centering pass off of a face-off to tie the game at 2-2 with 12:41 left in the second period.
Colorado would jump right back on top when forward Trent Daavettila fired a shot from the blue line that would be tipped into the net off a deflection in front by Bowman, making it 3-2 Eagles at the 16:02 mark of the second. Daavettila's assist would give him 80 points on the season, tying his career-high for points in a single season.
The Eagles would then capitalize on the man-advantage, as defenseman Teigan Zahn beat Barney from the high-slot with just 3.7 seconds remaining to give Colorado a 4-2 lead heading into the second intermission.
Alaska would trim Colorado's lead to 4-3 when defenseman Marc-Andre Levesque buried a shot from the top of the circle on the power play at the 6:14 mark of the third period.
The Aces would pull Barney in favor of the extra attacker, but Colorado would be the team to capitalize, as forward Jesse Mychan fired home an empty-netter for his 32nd goal of the season to give the Eagles the 5-3 win.
The Eagles now face the Utah Grizzlies in a best-of-seven series which kicks off with Game One set for Thursday, April 14th at 7:05pm.
The Colorado Eagles clinched a spot in the 2016 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs. Tickets go on sale Monday, April 11th at 10am.
Order yours by visiting the Budweiser Events Center Box Office, calling the Colorado Eagles Office at 970-688-SHOT or by clicking www.comcasttix.com.
ECHL Stories from April 10, 2016
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- Cyclones to Take on Komets in Kelly Cup First Round - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Eagles Announce First Round Playoff Schedule vs. Utah - Colorado Eagles
- Eagles Capture West Division Crown with 5-3 Win over Aces - Colorado Eagles
- Nailers to Open Playoffs against Everblades - Wheeling Nailers
- Barney Makes Debut But Aces Fall to Eagles 5-3 - Alaska Aces
- Grizzlies Close Season with 5-3 Win in Rapid City - Utah Grizzlies
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