CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Week In Review

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


Monday, December 31; Bridges Wins Second Game in a Row, Stops 36 of 37

VALLEY CENTER, Kan. - Bryan Bridges got his second start in a row and helped the Eagles shut down Wichita's power play in route to a 2-1 victory. After stopping 26 of 27 shots against Oklahoma City on Saturday, Bridges stopped 36 of 37, and the Thunder went 0-10 with the extra man (including three 5-on-3 opportunities) as Les Borsheim and Steve Haddon provided enough offense for the Eagles to win the scrappy game. The Eagles spent most of the first half of the period on the penalty kill, but Bridges was strong in net and Colorado's penalty killers went 5-5 to keep the Thunder off the scoreboard in the opening frame. Les Borsheim got the period's only goal at 12:55 after a Jon Horrell kick-save stopped his first attempt from in front of the net. Things heated up with just under two minutes to play when Wichita's Kyle Bruce hit Fraser Filipic into the boards from behind. Ed McGrane came to Filipic's aid by confronting Bruce, and then Filipic joined the two-some -- getting himself a game-misconduct penalty in the process. Wichita's Dominic D'Amour then went after Filipic and earned a game misconduct of his own. The second period's results were nearly identical to the first's. Wichita got the only goal of the period -- an early tally, just 1:03 in -- when Daniel Tetrault banged a rebound past Bridges from in front of the net. Wichita dominated the third, out-shooting Colorado 17-5, but the only goal came 1:58 in, when Haddon back-handed a goal off the crossbar; Haddon was initially credited with the first goal of the game, but it eventually went to Borsheim. The third period also had it's own fight as Mike Lukajic -- re-signed with Greg Pankewicz out of the game -- taking on Mike Batovanja, but Bridges was solid again during the ensuing penalty kill as the Eagles once more held the Thunder's power play power-less, and Colorado held on for the win in the first of their four-game road trip.

Wednesday, January 2; Eagles Announce Ladies Night Hockey 201 Date of January 21

Ladies Night Hockey 201, sponsored by Iron Mountain Autoplex, is back at the BEC on Jan 21st! Ladies join your Colorado Eagles for another fun filled evening of hockey education, arena tours, player interaction, food and prizes. This exciting event will be held at the Champion Auto Group Executive Club Restaurant located inside the Budweiser Events Center on Jan 21st, doors will open at 6pm. Prices are $40 for season ticket holders and $55 for non-season ticket holders (includes a game ticket to Jan 23rd game against the Killer Bees). Dinner is included; all drinks may be purchased from the full-service Champion Auto Group Executive Club Bar. Reserve your spot starting Thursday Jan 3rd, 2008 at 10 a.m. -- space is limited. Please call Ben Peal at 970-686-SHOT for more information or to reserve your seat.

Thursday, January 3; Tori Holt Named Part of All-Star Broadcast Team

WINDSOR, Colo. - The voice of the Colorado Eagles, Tori Holt, has been chosen to do play-by-play of the CHL All-Star game on a special feed over the CHL Network. Joining Holt as color analyst will be the Arizona Sundogs' Robby Incmikoski. The Rage's Brian Clark will handle the radio broadcast with Rich Bocchini of Rio Grande Valley providing color. The game will be played Wednesday, January 16; puck-drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (MST).

Thursday, January 3; King of the Road Partybus Plans Trip to All-Star Game for Fans

Fans, the King of the Road party-bus is offering a ride to see your Colorado Eagles' all-stars play in the CHL All-Star game in Broomfield, January 16. Join other Eagles fans in your own all-star experience, riding in the party-bus to see Greg Pankewicz and Aaron Schneekloth represent the Eagles. King of the Road is offering rides for $25 and ticket packages (including the ride) for as little as $45. All riders must be 21 or older as the bus features a built-in cash bar. The party-bus will depart from the Harmony Park-n-Ride in Fort Collins at 5 p.m. (loading will begin at 4:45). The bus will make an additional stop at the Longmont Park-n-Ride (located off highway 119) at approximately 5:25.

Friday, January 4; Three-Goal Second Period Carries Eagles Over Rayz

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Colorado Eagles used a strong second period to beat the Corpus Christi Rayz 5-3. Fraser Filipic, Brad Williamson and Scott Polaski scored for the Eagles in the second and Bryan Bridges held on in the third to get his third win in three consecutive starts as the Eagles improved to 2-0-0 in the first two games of their four-game road trip. The Eagles got off to a 2-0 start in the first period with their first goal coming short-handed at 14:39. Seth Leonard collected a Kevin Couture turnover behind the Rayz' net, but the goaltender somehow recovered in time to make a save on Leonard's shot. However, the rebound came right to Riley Nelson in the low slot and he threw it into the net for the Eagles' fourth shortie of the year. The second period belonged to the Eagles (Colorado out-shot Corpus Christi 20-8), but it was Corpus Christi that got on the board first. Two and a half minutes in, Joe Blaznek beat Bridges up high with a shot from the lower left circle after receiving a cross-crease pass from Geno Parrish on a breakaway. It took the Eagles less than a minute to answer that goal when Filipic deflected the puck past Couture from the doorstep. Colorado struck again with a power play goal at 5:34. Ed McGrane and Nelson played catch at the top of the right circle before McGrane knocked the puck to Williamson along the goal line to the right of the net; Williamson's sharp-angle shot beat the Rayz' goaltender for a 4-1 lead. Colorado closed out the period with one more for good measure when Polaski - stationed in the low slot - picked up his 100th career point by burying a chance with 2.7 seconds left. The Rayz submitted a valiant effort in the third, but their two goals were not enough to make up for their rough second period.

Saturday, January 5; Schneekloth's OT Goal Gives Eagles Fifth Straight Win

HIDALGO, Texas - The Colorado Eagles used a season-high 56 shots to net a 3-2 overtime victory over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. After falling behind 2-0 midway through the second period, the Eagles mounted a comeback that would ultimately result in victory just one minute into the extra frame. The Eagles extended their current win-streak to 5 games - their longest of the season. On a night honoring Rio Grande Valley great Sean Gillam, the Killer Bees rode an emotional wave into the game, scoring the only goal of the first period on a power play at 5:16. Mike Tuomi handled a rebound left in front of the crease, and buried it in the net to give his team the 1-0 advantage. The Killer Bees carried their momentum into the second period. On their second power play of the period, they extended their lead to 2-0. The puck cycled behind the net from Jon Hedberg to Josh Bonar, before finding Ladislav Kouba along the right boards. Kouba carried the puck to the right circle before snapping a one-timer through traffic and over the shoulder of Marco Emond. At 18:34 in the period, the Eagles would answer. With only 13 seconds remaining on the Colorado power play, Aaron Schneekloth advanced the puck through the right circle and found Ed McGrane cutting back door. The Eagles began the third period red-hot, evening the score only 26 seconds in. From behind the net, Paul Esdale directed a pass to Les Borsheim, who re-directed the puck through the crease and onto the tape of Fraser Filipic. Filipic fired a sharp-angled shot from the goal line that caromed off the inside of the left post and into the net. With the game now tied at two, the Eagles defense became a stone wall, killing both Killer Bees power play opportunities later in the period, and allowing only five shots to force the overtime period. With two unanswered goals and a 55-23 advantage in shots, the Eagles rode their momentum into overtime. Just one minute into the extra period, Scott Polaski found Schneekloth in the slot, and the defenseman redirected a shot past Lemanowicz for his second game-winning goal of the season.

Sunday, January 6; Eagles Lose in Laredo, Win Three of Four on Road Trip

LAREDO, Texas - The Colorado Eagles lost the only game of their four-game road trip, 5-3, to the Laredo Bucks. The meeting was the first for the Eagles in Laredo since last year's President's Cup finals. Three Bucks players had three points each (Jeff Bes, Adam Rivet and Serge Dube) to help power Laredo past the tired Colorado team as the Bucks always stayed one step ahead in a back-and-forth contest. Playing their third game in two and a half days looked to have an effect on the Eagles as they came out a little lethargic, getting out-shot 13-8 and taking three penalties in the opening period. Colorado had two early power play chances, but was unsuccessful on both. Laredo, however would convert just after their first man-advantage chance would expire, and again on their third chance of the period. The Eagles made it 1-1 at 16:05 when Riley Nelson sent Mike Lukajic in on a breakaway. Lukajic beat Kevin Beech from in close on the back-hand. The Bucks struck again just under a minute later when Bes threw a pass from low in the right circle toward Dube at the top of the crease. The puck deflected off Bridges and in for a power play goal. The second period played out similarly to the first. The Eagles wasted a golden opportunity when the Bucks were called for three penalties in a matter of minutes - giving Colorado what was essentially a full 5-on-3 power play chance - but Laredo won most of the key faceoffs and Seth Leonard hit two posts as the opportunity was neutralized. But at 12:30, the Eagles finally converted on the power play when Ed McGrane's pass from the goal line found Scott Polaski inside the right faceoff dot and Polaski rifled the puck home. Bes countered for Laredo just a minute and a half later, however (with the teams skating 4-on-4), when he chipped a second-chance shot over Bridges from in front of the net. Laredo added another goal with 11.6 seconds left in the period to take a 4-2 lead when Korchinski scored a 4-on-3 power play marker. Colorado's red-hot third line got the Eagles within one again at 6:46 when Fraser Filipic - without his helmet - back-handed a pass through the low slot to Steve Haddon to the right of the net for an easy tap-in. The score would stay at 4-3 until just 30 seconds remained when Rivet scored on an empty net from center ice. The Eagles finished their four-game road trip with three wins, netting six of eight total points with a short bench as Jay Birnie and Greg Pankewicz did not play in any of the games.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, January 9; Thunder Look to Make Noise at BEC

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Wichita Thunder will be making their third and final trip to the Budweiser Events Center this season on Wednesday. The Eagles have won all three of their contests with the Thunder so far (one on the road). The Thunder are currently in fifth place in the division.

Friday, January 11; Eagles Look for Revenge Against Jackalopes

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Odessa Jackalopes, currently leading the Southwest Division, will be making their first visit to the BEC since October 22, 2005. Both times the two teams met that season, the game ended with the home team winning 6-5 in a shootout. The teams met once last season in Odessa, with the Eagles losing 7-0.

Saturday, January 12; Eagles Look to Set New Sellout Streak Record, Make Hockey History Against Rage

LOVELAND, Colo. - If and when the Eagles achieve sellouts against Wichita, Odessa and Rocky Mountain this week, they will set the new record for consecutive regular season sellouts in minor-pro hockey at 145 games. If that weren't reason enough to get excited for the game, the Eagles will also be looking to gain ground in the division against their in-state rivals...oh, and it's also Meadow Gold Cowbell Night, Jammin' Jersey Night and a Skate-with-the-Eagles/Post-game Autograph night.

Notable Numbers

HOCKEY HISTORY - If and when the Eagles achieve sellouts against Wichita and Odessa this week, they will match the longest consecutive sellout streak in minor-pro hockey history. If they sell-out their game Saturday night against the in-state rival Rocky Mountain Rage, the Eagles will set the new record at 145 regular season sellouts in a row. The current record of 144 is held by the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL, set from 12/22/00-10/30/04.

CLOSE CALLS - Nearly 50 percent of the Eagles' games this season (15 of 31) have been decided by just one goal. Colorado is 8-3-4 in those contests. Of the remaining 16 games they've played, 11 have been decided by two goals, with the Eagles going 6-5-0. That's 84 percent of the team's games coming down to one or two goals.

FLYING HIGH - Colorado's offense is off to a good start through the first almost-half of the season. Through 31 games, the Eagles have scored the third-highest amount of goals in the CHL at 121, their goals-for average of 3.90 is second-best in the league and their 39.42 shots-per-game puts them above every other team.

FOUR SCORE- 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 (12-1-4). When scoring three or fewer, however, their record drops to 6-8-0.

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 9-0-0 when taking a lead into the locker room for the first intermission, and 10-0-2 with a lead after two periods of play. All-time, Colorado is 150-4-6 when heading into the third period on top. On the other hand, when trailing at the end of the second they are 3-8-1 this season.

TOP LINE PRODUCTION - The Eagles third line of Les Borsheim, Steve Haddon and Fraser Filipic has been clicking at a high level as of late, producing a total of 16 points in the past six games (7-9-16): Borsheim with five (2-3-5, +6), Haddon with five (3-2-5, +6) and Filipic with six (2-4-6, +5).

LES IS MORE - Eagles defenseman-turned-forward Les Borsheim is racking up points at a pace that will demolish his career highs. In his last seven games, Borsheim has registered six points (2-4-6), giving him a total of seven (3-4-7) in 19 games played this year. His career highs in a season are 5-11-16 (set last season) in 58 total games. Furthermore, Borsheim is a plus-eight in the last six contests.

POWER OUTAGE - The Eagles power play has just five goals in its past 61 chances for a conversion rate of 8.2 percent since December 14. Before the month-long swoon started, Colorado owned the top power play in the league at 26.9 percent - they now rank third at 20.12 percent, just .45 percent away from falling into fourth.

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics



Central Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2008


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