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CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Two Points Closer to Top Seed

March 20, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


BROOMFIELD, Colo. - A short-benched Colorado Eagles squad outlasted the rival Rocky Mountain Rage in a 4-3 overtime win. Playing with only 14 skaters and five defensemen, the Northwest Division champs got an overtime goal from Jay Birnie (just his second score of the season) to push them just one victory away from winning the Governors' Cup as regular season champions.

The two teams exchanged extended periods of pressure in the opening period, but the Eagles were the only team to score as they built a 2-0 lead on their first 10 shots. Ryan Tobler scored first when he beat Marty Magers 5-hole from the right faceoff circle. Then at 8:42, Steve Haddon got his ninth power-play goal of the season when Konrad Reeder found him camped out on the doorstep with a feed from the left side of the net. The Rage immediately made a goalie change, replacing Magers with Scott Reid in net.

Both clubs played a fairly even second frame, but the Rage capitalized on the last of their three power plays in the period to cut Colorado's lead in half heading into the third. The power-play goal Aaron Davis scored 19 minutes in, off a feed through the low slot from Nathan Gillies, broke two defensive streaks for the Eagles. It was the first man-advantage marker they had allowed since March 7 and it was the first goal scored against them at all after a shutout stretch of 171 minutes and 28 seconds.

Clay Plume was able to tie the game at two with another Rage power-play score at 3:11 of the third when his point shot found the back of the net behind Andrew Penner. Rocky Mountain was then able to kill two overlapping penalties -- and part of a 5-on-3 disadvantage -- midway through the frame. But Greg Pankewicz put the Eagles back on top, 3-2, with his 12th power-play goal of the season by beating Reid blocker-side with a wrister from high in the left circle at 17:53.

The late goal looked to be the game-winner as the clock reached double digits, but Tobler was called for interference at 19:01 and the Rage converted with an empty net, 6-on-4 tally with 38.8 seconds left. Ryan McLeod, standing at the left side of the Eagles' net, was the recipient of a fortunate bounce when Plume's spinning shot went wide and bounced off the endboards right to him, forcing overtime.

The Eagles out-shot Rocky Mountain 4-3 in the extra frame, with Birnie notching the winner at 2:12 after a great play by Ed McGrane. The Colorado winger danced through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone before getting behind the Rage defense and then hauled down in the low slot. As the players untangled themselves, Birnie neatly tucked the puck inside the Rage cage. McGrane's assist extended his point streak to a CHL season-high 18 games, one game off the franchise record, and the longest streak that doesn't carry over two seasons.

Colorado will finish the regular season with a pair of games in Rapid City, S.D. on Friday and Saturday night.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2009


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