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CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Week In Review

December 17, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Week In Review

Tuesday, December 11; Hartsburg Excited to Start New Chapter of Hockey Life

WINDSOR, Colo. - Colorado Eagles forward Chris Hartsburg announced his retirement, but is not leaving the game of hockey or the Colorado Eagles organization. Hartsburg was injured in the second period of the Eagles game against the Rocky Mountain Rage on November 2 (his second injury to the same knee in as many seasons), and will join the team's hockey operations staff. After considering his injury-filled history and his future health and desires, Hartsburg has chosen to listen to his body and follow his heart. "I'll definitely miss being around the guys and the camaraderie, but I'll still be around -- just in a different capacity," said Hartsburg. Eagles President, General Manager and Head Coach Chris Stewart said he understands Hartsburg's role change and that he's looking forward to tapping into Hartsburg's hockey pedigree, "I have enjoyed coaching Chris and totally understand his decision. However, the upside is his knowledge of the game, and we can use that to our advantage -- it will just be off the ice." In his four seasons with Colorado, the Sault Saint Marie, Ontario native, played in only 144 games -- missing extensive time in three of the seasons to injuries. Hartsburg finishes his Eagles career with 50 goals, 70 assists (120 points) and 231 penalty minutes. In three playoff stretches (31 games total), the forward recorded 25 points (9-16-25) and 43 PIMs. In addition to his offensive production, he was known for his crunching hits and frequently parked his bulky frame (six-foot, 200 pounds) in front of the net. It was his style of play that, in part, contributed to his numerous injuries. "Doing this now is an easy decision," Chris Hartsburg said about the transition. "I'm willing to do whatever coach asks me, and I'm happy about the opportunity."

Friday, December 14; Keserich's Effort Not Enough, Carroll gets 23rd Shutout

BOSSIER CITY, La. - The Mudbugs' Ken Carroll earned his 23rd professional shutout and the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs beat the Colorado Eagles 3-0 despite a strong effort from Ian Keserich in net. The Eagles' top ranked power play (25.66 percent coming in) went 0-5 on the night and the Mudbugs scored three goals off turnovers to hand the Eagles their sixth road loss -- eight overall -- of the season. After throwing a franchise-record 24 shots-against at Marco Emond in the final period of last Saturday's game the Mudbugs were at it again, registering 19 shots on Keserich in the first. But just like Emond in the last period, Keserich stopped all of Bossier-Shreveport's attempts to keep the 'Bugs off the scoreboard heading into the first intermission. The Eagles registered 12 shots on the Mudbugs' Carroll, but failed to capitalize on a 5-on-3 for a minute and 18 seconds, as they too ended the first without a goal. After shooting 19 times in the first without a goal, it took only one shot in the second to put the Mudbugs on top. Just 1:15 in, after a turnover in the right circle, Justin Aikins turned and shot the puck past Keserich. Carroll stopped all 11 Colorado shots in the third, and Brett Smith added an empty-netter with 25 seconds left to put the game away, 3-0.

Saturday, December 15; RiverKings Fight Back for Shootout Win

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - The Mississippi RiverKings overcame an early 3-0 deficit and a bench-clearing brawl to come back and beat the Colorado Eagles, 5-4 in a shootout. Louis Dumont got the shootout winner, and the two teams combined for 177 penalty minutes (101 for Colorado, 76 for Mississippi) in an entertaining game in front of 2,687 at the DeSoto Civic Center. The 177 combined penalty minutes set a franchise record for the Eagles, and their 101 penalty minutes rank second all-time. After failing to score a night earlier, the Eagles got out to a 3-0 lead just after eight minutes in, but Mississippi would take advantage of three Eagles' mistakes to climb back into the game with three first period goals of their own. After the horn sounded to end the first, Jay Birnie got into a fight in the corner that would lead to a bench-clearing brawl. While Birnie was throwing punches, Hanna -- the RiverKings goalie -- jumped Pankewicz near the benches. Keserich then came to the captain's aid and took out Hanna with a steady diet of flying fists. As the goalies were locked up, Fraser Filipic and Sheldon Wenzel started circling at center ice; Filipic dropped him almost immediately, but since the officials were so busy, Wenzel got back up and they kept going. Les Borsheim and Jason Beatty joined in the spirit and began their own fracases and the ice was covered with sticks, gloves and fights before it finally came to an end and the teams made their way to their respective locker rooms. The second period opened with the benches almost as vacant as they were during the bench-clearing brawl as a total of eight players -- five Eagles (Pankewicz, Keserich, Filipic, Beatty and Birnie) and three RiverKings (Wenzel, Hanna and Darrell Stoddard) -- were handed game misconduct penalties. With both goalies gone, Bryan Bridges skated between the pipes for the first time with the Eagles and Kyle McNulty (recently signed by the RiverKings) took over the net on the opposite side of the ice as the period opened. After coming into the game to start the second period, Bridges stopped 39 of 40 shots in a span of 45 minutes. After each team got four shots but no goals in overtime, the game went to a shootout. Each team had one of its first five shooters score -- Campbell for Mississippi and Leonard for Colorado -- but the game ended with the sixth shooters. Dumont went first and beat Bridges 5-hole, before Schneekloth was stopped against the right post.

Saturday, December 15; Special Deals and Appearances at the Foothills Mall

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Fans, were encouraged to come out to the Colorado Eagles' store in the Foothills Mall (located a few doors down from Hallmark, across from Payless) over the weekend for some special deals and appearances. In addition to special free items, veteran forward Ryan Tobler, Slapshot and the Eagles Chicks stopped by the store. In addition, everyone who spent $25, was given a FREE Eagles tin with special holiday gifts inside.

The Week Ahead

Monday, December 17 - Sunday, December 23; Special Deals and Appearances at the Foothills Mall

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Fans, come out to the Colorado Eagles' store in the Foothills Mall (located a few doors down from Hallmark, across from Payless) this week(end) for some special deals and appearances. In addition to special free items, veteran players Brad Williamson and Riley Nelson, Slapshot and the Eagles Chicks will be stopping by the store; customers will receive a FREE championship blanket with any purchase of $100 or more. For a complete list of deals and appearances, please check the Eagles web site at www.coloradoeagles.com.

Friday, December 21; Eagles Look to Silence Thunder For Second Time This Season

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Wichita Thunder (5-15-0, 5th in the NW) will be making their second trip to the BEC this season. The Eagles won the first contest, 5-3 on December 5, dominating play and finishing with a 48-21 edge in shots. All-time, the Eagles are 11-6-0 at home against Wichita. The Blazers currently have the lowest winning percentage in the league at .250.

Saturday, December 22; Eagles Look to Avenge Early-Season Loss to Scorpions

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Eagles will look to continue their dominance over the New Mexico Scorpions on a night that should already be emotionally charged due to the championship ring ceremony following the game. The Eagles are 22-3-4 against the Scorpions all-time, 13-0-3 at the BEC. Colorado lost the only contest against the Scorpions so far this season in New Mexico, 3-4. New Mexico heads into the week with a record of 11-9-3 (25 points, 3rd in the SW).

Saturday, December 22; Championship Ring Ceremony Immediately Following Game

LOVELAND, Colo. - The President's Cup champion Colorado Eagles will hold a celebration after their game against the New Mexico Scorpions December 22, presenting championship rings to players and staff members. The event will be held immediately following the game, next door at the First National Bank Exhibition Hall. All fans at the event will have a chance at winning one of two championship rings, and the second ring will be auctioned off. In addition to the ring ceremony, live and silent auctions for various items will be held throughout the night. Food and other entertainment will also accompany autograph tables and a merchandise booth. Tickets to the event are $10 -- with proceeds going to the Colorado Eagles Foundation. Children 16 and under will be admitted for free (they will also receive entry into the fan ring giveaway). Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling Frances at the Colorado Eagles office (970) 686-SHOT (7468).

Notable Numbers

Home Sweet Home - The Eagles' record at the Budweiser Events Center is a fantastic 9-2-0, with only two teams in the league having more wins at home (10 for Laredo and Mississippi). Those two teams, however, have played two more home games than Colorado. Rocky Mountain is the only other team with 11 or fewer home games to collect as many as nine wins, going 9-0-2.

Locker Room Leads - The Eagles have failed to lose a game in regulation this season anytime they are leading at the end of a period. Colorado is 5-0-0 when taking a lead into the locker room for the first intermission, and 6-0-2 with a lead after two periods of play. On the other hand, when trailing at the end of a period the Eagles are a combined 4-11-1.

Four the Win - The number four seems to be the magic number for the Eagles this season. When Colorado scores at least four goals, they have lost only one game in regulation (9-1-4). When scoring three or fewer, however, their record drops to 2-6-0.

Working Overtime Isn't Working - Five of the Eagles 22 games (22.7 percent) have gone past regulation this season; combined their record when playing extra time is 1-4. The Eagles have played two overtime games, going 1-1, and had three others go to a shootout -- all losses.

Shootout Shutout - The Colorado Eagles are 0-3 in shootouts this year (all on the road), falling October 9 at Arizona, November 3 at Amarillo and December 15 at Mississippi. Colorado's goaltenders have done a good job holding up their end of the shootouts, stopping 13 of 19 attempts (68.4 percent), but the Eagles shooters have scored only three times in 21 tries (14.3 percent) -- one goal each for Ryan Tobler, Riley Nelson and Seth Leonard.

Power Outage - Heading into last weekend, the Eagles had the best power play in the league at 25.66 percent. However, the team went 0-10 in the two road games to drop back into second place at 24.58 percent.

Poisonous Place - Despite the truth otherwise, here's some evidence that a Scorpion will sting itself to death if exposed to alcohol. Inside the Budweiser Events Center, the Eagles have never lost to New Mexico in regulation, bringing a 13-0-3 record into this Saturday's game. Not only that, but Colorado holds an 80-44 edge in goals in those 16 contests.

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