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CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Playoff Week In Review

April 7, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Week In Review

Tuesday, April 1; Pankewicz, Laplante Push Eagles to 3-0 Series Lead

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Colorado Eagles took a 3-0 series lead on the Youngstown SteelHounds for the second consecutive year with a 4-1 victory in the Northern Conference Semi-Finals. Sebastien Laplante stopped 24 of 25 Youngstown shots and Greg Pankewicz notched three points (2-1-3) en route to the road win. The Eagles and SteelHounds exchanged power-play goals and six shots aside in a quick-moving first period. Colorado got on the board first, scoring at 10:08 to move their power-play percentage in the series to 37.5 percent (6-15). Seth Leonard, skating toward the endboards through the right-wing circle, backhanded a pass through the low slot to Scott Polaski who slammed the puck home from the back door. Youngstown answered just over five minutes later on their own man-advantage chance when Chris Richards walked out of a scrum in the corner with the puck and beat Laplante top shelf with a shot from low in the left circle. The power-play goal was just the third in 22 chances for the SteelHounds in the series. Colorado took a 2-1 lead in the second when Pankewicz scored his third goal in as many games 2:56 into the period. Pankewicz got a pass from Aaron Schneekloth in the neutral zone and scooted into the SteelHounds' zone before unleashing a shot past Andy Franck from the right circle. The shot was reminiscent the captain's goal in Game Six of last year's Cup-clinching series against Laredo and proved why Pankewicz came in second in this year's Best of the Best voting for "Hardest Shooter." Youngstown was able to keep the Eagles off the board the rest of the period thanks to some stellar penalty-killing, including a 5-on-3 chance midway through. The Eagles stretched their lead to 3-1 with their second power-play tally of the night at 7:22 of the third when Pankewicz faked a shot and then sent a pass across the ice to Riley Nelson in the right circle. The goal was the first of the series for the Eagles' all-time leading scorer against the 'Hounds. Pankewicz then put the game away with his second goal of the night into an empty net; the short-handed marker came as Youngstown played up two men in the waning minutes of the match. Colorado will look to close out the series with a sweep on Thursday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 EST (5:05 MST). The Eagles are 2-0 in their playoff history when taking a 3-0 series lead.

Thursday, April 3; SteelHounds Stay Alive With Win in Game Four

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Youngstown SteelHounds avoided a season-ending loss in a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Eagles in Game Four of the Northern Conference Semi-finals. Kevin Beech got his first start in net in the playoffs as Andy Franck had lost all three previous meetings for Youngstown in the series. The loss prevented Colorado from securing their first playoff sweep in franchise history. Youngstown came out hard in the first period, carrying the majority of play and nearly tripling up the Eagles on shots. But Sebastien Laplante was stellar - as he's been all series long - and the two teams entered their respective locker rooms without a goal after 20 minutes of play. The SteelHounds continued to carry the momentum, scoring three goals by the midpoint of the second period. Just 13 seconds in, Ryan Bennett struck on the power play - notching his first goal of the series after scoring six in four games against the Eagles in the regular season. The quick strike was the fastest goal allowed to start a playoff period in Eagles' franchise history. Mark Odut made it 2-0 at 3:27 when he converted a short-handed breakaway, beating Laplante 5-hole. And at 10:49, Eric Przepiorka set up Jim Russo back-door for the amateur-addition's first professional goal. At that point, the SteelHounds had out-shot the Eagles 27-11 and Chris Stewart called a timeout to re-collect his squad. The regrouping seemed to work as the momentum soon shifted in Colorado's favor. The Eagles' third line put in a solid shift moments later and soon after, Jay Birnie would get the Eagles on the scoreboard. After another strong cycling effort - this time by Greg Pankewicz's line - Birnie's shot found the back of the net behind Beech. Riley Nelson was then robbed in front after intercepting a pass in the right-wing circle and skating in on the 'Hounds netminder. But Colorado just kept coming. With the Eagles on the power play at the 16 minute mark, Beech made another solid save on Aaron Schneekloth moving left to right, but Ryan Tobler would deflect a shot from in front as the play continued to cut Youngstown's lead to 3-2. Bennett, however, would slow the Eagles' newfound momentum as the period wound down, backhanding in a rebound from in front to restore his team's two-goal lead. Youngstown made it 5-2 with another power-play goal - after scoring just three in the previous three games - to account for the final margin. The physical play went up a notch or two from there on out as the two teams created some bad blood that will surely spill over in Game Five Friday night. Colorado will have a chance to close out the series with their fourth win Friday evening. If the SteelHounds win again on Friday, Game(s) Six and Seven (if necessary) will be at the Budweiser Events Center on April 8 and 9.

Friday, April 4; Eagles Advance to Conference Finals With 1-0 Shutout

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Sebastien Laplante got his second shutout of the playoffs and Riley Nelson got the only goal the Eagles would need as Colorado defeated the Youngstown SteelHounds 1-0 in Game Five of the Northern Conference Semi-Finals. Kevin Beech got the nod for the second night in a row - after netting the SteelHounds' only win in the series Thursday night - but his phenomenal play (after stopping 22 of 24 shots last night, Beech stopped 35 of 36) wasn't enough to keep his team's season alive as Laplante stopped all 32 shots he faced. Both teams skated to a scoreless first period, with the Eagles coming out strong before tailing off in the second half of the frame. Shots were even at eight midway through, but the SteelHounds used two power-plays in the second half of the period to out-shoot Colorado 14-8 at the end of the first. The Eagles also went 0-2 on the man-advantage. The Eagles took control of the game in the second, out-shooting the SteelHounds 17-9 and registering the game's first and only goal. The tally came courtesy of Riley Nelson on the power play when Beech couldn't freeze the puck through a crowd in front of his net and the Eagles veteran swooped through the slot to back-hand it into a wide-open cage at 9:03. Laplante did his part the rest of the way, shutting the door on Youngstown with numerous big saves. Beech continued his stellar play in the third, keeping the 'Hounds alive. The Youngstown netminder stopped Greg Pankewicz on two separate breakaways, with his best save of the night coming when he stoned the Eagles' captain on a short-handed breakaway with his left arm along the goal line seven minutes into the third. The Eagles kept the pressure on, out-shooting the SteelHounds 11-9 in the period, and Laplante kept up his own fine work in Colorado's net. Just like in his Game Two shutout, Laplante's best save might have come with under two minutes left - finishing the game just as strong as he had started it. Colorado will face the winner of the Bossier-Shreveport, Texas series. Tickets for the (Third Round) Northern Conference Finals will go on sale Monday, April 7 at 10 a.m.

Monday, April 7; Game One of Conference Finals Moved to Friday

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles, in accordance with the Budweiser Events Center and the Colorado Ice, have moved the opening game of the Central Hockey League's Northern Conference Finals from Thursday, April 10 to Friday April 11. The Eagles and Ice have effectively swapped dates in order to provide Eagles fans a more beneficial Friday evening game. The best-of-seven series will consist of a 2-3-2 format with the first two games being held at the Budweiser Events Center on April 11 and 13. The series will then move to the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas for games on April 16 and 18, and if necessary April 19. The series' sixth and seventh games would be played back in Loveland on April 21 and 23. All games start at 7 p.m. local time (MST for COL, CST for TEX).

Game 1: Friday, April 11; Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado

Game 2: Sunday, April 13; Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado

Game 3: Wednesday, April 16; NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas

Game 4: Friday, April 18; NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas

Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, April 19; NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas

Game 6 (if necessary): Monday, April 21; Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado

Game 7 (if necessary): Wednesday, April 23; Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado

Season Ticket Holders

Colorado Eagles tickets for the 2008 CHL Playoffs are in your season ticket books.

The tickets for the Conference Final round have a RED border.

The tickets coincide with the following games:

Friday, April 11th at 7:05pm - Please use your Red Round 3 Game A ticket

Sunday, April 13th at 7:05pm - Please use your Red Round 3 Game B ticket

Monday, April 21st at 7:05pm - (If necessary) Please use your Red Round 3 Game C ticket

Wednesday, April 23rd at 7:05pm - (If necessary) Please use your Red Round 3 Game D ticket

Monday, April 7; Eagles Add Amateur Player to Playoff Roster

WINDSOR, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles announced today the addition of amateur forward Scott Thauwald (THAW-wald) to the roster for the duration of the 2008 CHL Playoffs. Thauwald, a 6-foot, 190-pound left-winger was the captain of the 2008 WCHA Champion Colorado College Tigers. "We're excited to add another promising amateur player to our roster," said President, General Manager and Head Coach Chris Stewart. "If you look at our history of signing amateur players for the playoffs, they've all added to our success either in those playoffs or in the following years." Stewart added, "Scott is coming from a very solid college program and I expect him to bring speed, skill, grittiness and depth to our lineup." The 23-year old Rochester, Minnesota native helped lead the Tigers to the WCHA regular season title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament played in their home rink at the World Arena in Colorado Springs. Although the Tigers season ended with a 3-1 loss to Michigan State, Thauwald finished his collegiate career registering personal highs in points (15) and assists (10) while scoring five goals for the number-one seeded Tigers. Thauwald, who earned a medical redshirt after recovering from two consecutive reconstructive knee surgeries, was named to the All-WCHA Academic team three times in his pervious four seasons with the Tigers. He ended his five-year career with Colorado College playing in 135 games and scoring 26 goals while adding 22 assists. Thauwald was one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Minnesota "Mr. Hockey" Award as the states best high school player.

The Week Ahead

Friday and Sunday April 11 & 13; Eagles Open Conference Finals At Home vs. Texas

Colorado - the Northern Conference's second seed - will look to take advantage of home ice as they face the fourth-seeded Texas Brahmas in the opening two games of the Conference Finals. The winner of the best-of-seven series will advance to the Ray Miron President's Cup Finals as the representative of the Northern Conference.

Notable Numbers

LAYING EGGS - Colorado goaltender, Sebastien Laplante, has posted two shutouts through five games so far this postseason - more than any other goalie in the league. Laplante led the Eagles to a 5-0 win in Game Two against the SteelHounds and posted a 1-0 shutout to clinch the series in Game Five. Entering the week, Laplante leads the league's goaltenders in wins (4) and shutouts (2), while ranking fourth in GAA (2.00) and SV% (.939).

AMATEUR HOUR - The Colorado Eagles added amateur forward Scott Thauwald to their playoff roster on Monday. The Colorado College product was the captain of the 2008 WCHA Champion Tigers and registered career highs in points (15) and assists (10) while tallying five goals. The 6-foot, 190-pound left-winger is a native of Rochester, Minnesota.

SERIES HISTORY - The Eagles and Brahmas met two times this season, with the home team winning each game. All-time, Colorado is 10-2-0 against the Texas/Fort Worth franchise and has out-scored them by a two-to-one margin of 50-25. The Eagles have also won all six meetings against the Brahmas at the Budweiser Events Center.

PENALTY KILLING PROS - Heading into the week, the Eagles and Brahmas were ranked first and second respectively in playoff penalty-killing percentage. Colorado killed 87.70 percent of Youngstown's chances in the last round, while the Brahmas have killed 86.36 percent of opposing power plays through two rounds.

ALL RILEY'D UP - The Eagles and Brahmas have never met in the playoffs, but through 12 regular season meetings, Riley Nelson leads all Colorado scorers against the Texas/Fort Worth franchise. The Eagles' regular season scoring champions (37-54-91) has registered 19 points (8-11-19) in the dozen games.

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics

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Central Hockey League Stories from April 7, 2008


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