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CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Week In Review

February 18, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Monday, February 11; Eagles Move Esdale at Deadline as Team Gets Healthy

WINDSOR, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles traded defenseman Paul Esdale to the Corpus Christi Rayz in exchange for two players to be named after the season. The move was facilitated by the continuing recuperation of the Eagles' team. With the upcoming returns of Ryan Tobler and Scott Polaski, and the recent return of Erik Adams to the defensive corps, Colorado would soon be faced with having 20 healthy players and a league-mandated 19-man roster.

Tuesday, February 12; Eagles Fall in First of Back-to-Backs With Rage

BROOMFIELD, Colo. - In a contest befitting the top two teams in the Northwest Division, the Rocky Mountain Rage defeated the Colorado Eagles 5-3 in a hard-hitting, ill-willed and close contest. The Eagles edged out the Rage with 41 shots to 40, but failed to score on seven power play chances while the Rage added an empty-net goal on the power play to put the game away. In a period full of power-play opportunities - the first came just nine seconds in for Rocky Mountain - the Rage were the only ones to score in the first. The Eagles squandered four power play chances in the opening period, including two 5-on-3 opportunities, and never really seemed to click. Colt King finally scored for the Rage on their third and final man-advantage chance of the period when Ladislav Kouba hit him with a pass at 18:23. Kouba, stationed below the left faceoff circle, found King wide open low in the opposite circle for the game's first goal. Rocky Mountain received three more power plays in the second period, with the first Eagles penalty being issued before the period started as Fraser Filipic was called for delay of game at the end of the first. Sebastien Laplante kept the game close as he stopped a 2-on-0 short-handed breakaway five minutes in, but Chip Dunleavy beat the Eagles goaltender on a 2-on-1 at the 5:41 mark when he snapped a shot over Laplante's right shoulder from the left-wing circle. Colorado's penalty killers submitted a solid effort, successfully killing a five minute penalty midway through the period - included in which were two minutes of 5-on-3 play. But at 17:13, the Rage went up 3-0 when Nathan Rosychuk was able to fight through an Eagles defenseman in front of the net and sweep a weak shot under Laplante and just over the goal line. The Eagles came back, scoring three goals in the third, but the Rage had two of their own. Colorado scored at 2:08 when Dave Iannazzo floated a pass toward the crease out of the left-wing corner. Seth Leonard swatted it out of the air and Reid made the initial save before Riley Nelson was able to poke it home. The Rage countered with their second of three power play goals on the night under two minutes later. Simon Watson took a shot from between the circles and Laplante kicked the puck to his right, but right onto the stick of Scott Wray who threw it into the empty net. The Eagles got their second goal at 8:10 when Brad Williamson's shot was deflected in front by Filipic and the rebound went right to Steve Haddon who tossed the puck behind Reid. Colorado had a chance to diminish the deficit with back-to-back power plays midway through the period, but failed to take advantage as they had all night. Despite the missed opportunities, Les Borsheim made it a one goal game at 15:14 when four players collided at the lip of the Rocky Mountain crease before the bruising forward chipped the puck over the Rage netminder. And with just over three minutes left, Kris Wiebe split the Rage defense entering the offensive zone and used a power move to get behind the last defender before ringing a shot off the post. The game was all but over when the 5-foot-8-inch Iannazzo was called for elbowing with 2:33 left, putting Rocky Mountain on their final power play of the night, and Watson added an empty-net goal with 38.6 seconds remaining as the Eagles pulled out all the stops in a last-ditch effort to tie the game.

Wednesday, February 13; Eagles Get Revenge Vs. Rage, Gain Back Ground

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles beat the Rocky Mountain Rage 6-3, one night after losing to their in-state rival in Broomfield. The Eagles now trail the Rage by just five points in the Northwest Division. Bryan Bridges got the start in net for Colorado for the first time since January 29; swapping with Sebastien Laplante who started the previous night's game. Riley Nelson powered the Eagles with two goals (one on a penalty shot) and an assist, and Colorado added two empty-netters for the final margin. The Eagles dominated the first period - holding a decided edge in pressure and out-shooting the Rage 18-6 at one point - but couldn't figure out Scott Reid in the Rage net. Reid stonewalled Colorado on two power plays in the first and also did some work on the penalty kill just a few minutes into the game, stopping Seth Leonard from between the hashes on a dish from Steve Haddon in the left corner. It only took 66 seconds for the Eagles to get a goal in the second period, however, after Greg Pankewicz back-handed a soft pass from the left-wing boards to Kris Wiebe who beat the Rage goaltender from the left circle. Jay Birnie made it 2-0 with a back-hand shot at 3:02 when Haddon sent a pass from behind the net to Birnie cutting through the crease. But the Rage answered just 18 seconds later when Simon Watson slipped a chance through Bridges and across the line just before Ed McGrane could sweep it out of harm's way. Just over a minute later, Leonard got the period's second assist from behind the net when Riley Nelson one-timed his pass into the cage from below the right-wing circle. Rocky Mountain kept their deficit at just two goals by killing an extensive 5-on-3 chance for Colorado midway through the period. The Rage cut the Eagles' lead to 3-2 at 6:49 of the third when Daymen Rycroft tried (unsuccessfully) to stuff the puck past Bridges' left pad and Trevor Weisgerber flipped in the rebound. Nelson restored Colorado's two-goal cushion when he drew a penalty shot while on the penalty kill at 8:30. The Eagles forward faked a forehand shot to freeze Reid and then threw a back-hander over the goalie's left leg for the first successful regular season penalty shot - and only the second successful try overall (Ryan Tobler scored in last season's playoffs) - in team history. Reid was tossed after the goal, putting Terry Dunbar between the pipes for Rocky Mountain. Rycroft, the league's leading goal scorer, got his 38th on the power play at 9:53 when he went top-shelf on Bridges from low in the left-wing circle. Dunbar was tested shortly after when the Eagles had yet another 5-on-3 power play, but again failed to score. The contest remained 4-3 until the final minute when Colorado added two empty-net goals (one by Leonard with 47 seconds left and another by Kris Wiebe with 8.3 left on the clock).

Friday, February 15; Short-Benched Eagles Fall to Horrell, Thunder

VALLEY CENTER, Kan. - Jon Horrell backstopped the Wichita Thunder to a 6-3 win over the short-benched and short-handed Colorado Eagles, stopping 45 of 48 shots for his first victory since December 14 and just his second win of the year. Bryan Bridges got the start after beating the Rage in Colorado's previous game, denying Sebastien Laplante a chance to return in net against his former club, but the Eagles - already short-benched - put themselves behind the 8-ball by taking 10 penalties on the night. Wichita and Colorado skated to a 3-2 score after the first period, with three power play goals between the two clubs. The Thunder got the first goal at 3:18 when Brad Thompson out-muscled an Eagles defenseman in front of the net, spun and snuck a shot under Bridges. Stan Yanchishyn made it 2-0 just 47 seconds later when the Thunder took advantage of Brad Williamson pinching in the offensive zone to create a 3-on-2 chance the other way. The Eagles finally got on the board at 7:13 when Seth Leonard skated the puck through the Wichita zone on the power play and hit Ed McGrane who beat the Thunder goalie. Former Eagle, Mike Lukajic, restored the two-goal cushion for the Thunder when he scored on a 5-on-3 power play, just 12 seconds before the first Colorado penalty would have expired. Leonard, though, got that one back at 17:18 when he scored his second power play point of the period with a goal of his own. The Thunder expanded their lead to 6-2 in the second before Riley Nelson got a power play goal at the 16:39 mark to make it 6-3 after two periods. At the 7:50 mark, Bruce Richardson fought through a hook as he skated into the offensive zone before getting off a shot, and David Victor put in the rebound. Jason Duda then got Wichita's second power-play goal of the night on a shot that deflected multiple times before evading Bridges. At 12:55, Todd Paul skated down the left-wing boards and threw the puck on net where it was deflected past the Eagles netminder again, this time by Kyle Bruce. Nelson scored for the Eagles just seconds into a double-minor penalty on Cedric Bernier to extend his point streak to nine games. Laplante started the third period in net for the Eagles, making a delayed debut in front of his former home crowd. He was thrown right into the fire too, facing a 5-on-3 short-handed situation. He snuffed the Thunder power plays and stopped all eight shots he faced in the period, but Colorado couldn't beat Horrell despite putting 19 shots on net in the final frame.

Sunday, February 17; Nelson, Laplante Lead Eagles Over Scorpions 6-0

RIO RANCHO, N.M. - The Colorado Eagles snapped the longest road-losing streak in their history in emphatic fashion with a 6-0 win over the New Mexico Scorpions. Riley Nelson's four points and Sebastien Laplante's 26-save shutout - the first of the season for Colorado and 30th in franchise history - helped set the tone as the Eagles closed to within four points of Rocky Mountain atop the division. Colorado played a solid first period, coming away with a 2-0 lead after the first 20 minutes. Seth Leonard extended his point streak to eight games at 2:47 when he put an Erik Adams rebound past Andrew Martin from the left side of the crease for the game's first goal. Then, after Laplante turned aside a few quality short-handed chances near the five-minute mark, Nelson made it 2-0 with his seventh power play goal of the year. Nelson and Brad Williamson played catch at the top of the power-play umbrella before the Eagles forward one-timed a shot past Martin from high in the right circle; the goal gave Nelson the league's longest current scoring streak at 10 games. The Eagles doubled their lead to 4-0 in the middle frame, out-shooting the Scorpions 16-8. At 12:19, Colorado's All-Star defenseman made his presence felt on the power play. Aaron Schneekloth, returning to the lineup after five games, skated the puck into the middle of the offensive zone and got off a shot that Nelson converted for his second power play goal of the game. At 16:50, Steve Haddon stole the puck in the New Mexico zone and quickly wristed a shot off the crossbar and in for the Eagles fourth goal of the game. Colorado's penalty killers helped close out the victory with a goal and some key kills as time wound down. Around the 16 minute mark, Martin stoned Nelson's bid for a hat trick when the Scorpions' goalie flashed his left pad on an Eagles odd-man rush. And just a minute and a half later, Nelson came close again as Leonard threw a short-handed shot on net where Nelson was crashing and the puck deflected past Martin (it appeared that Nelson might have touched it last, the goal will be reviewed). Schneekloth struck again at 13:40 when he tipped the game's final goal into the New Mexico net. Colorado's penalty killers finished the period and the game strong with a 5-on-3 kill as time ran down and a separate penalty kill in the game's final two minutes to help preserve the shutout.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, February 19; Eagles End Road Trip in Tulsa

Colorado will end their three-game road trip with a game against the Oilers, trying to avenge their loss in Tulsa on January 29. The Eagles have lost only two games in Tulsa, with the other defeat coming in their first visit five years ago. All-time they're 21-4-1 against the Oilers, 9-2-0 on the road.

Friday, February 22; SteelHounds, Eagles Meet for First Time This Season

The SteelHounds will be making their first trip back to the BEC since the first round of last year's playoffs. Youngstown is currently just one point behind Colorado in the Northern Conference playoff race and has a 16-9-1 record on the road.

Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24; Eagles and Rage Take Part in Back-to-Back Battle for Division Lead

The Eagles will host the Rage Saturday night in the first of four more meetings this season before heading to the Broomfield Event Center on Sunday. Heading into the week, Colorado trails Rocky Mountain by just four points in the division, with a game in hand.

Notable Numbers

ROAD WARRIORS - The Eagles' "third line" of Les Borsheim, Steve Haddon and Fraser Filipic has been especially effective on the road, registering 33 of their combined 53 points (62.3 percent) away from the Budweiser Events Center. In fact, 11 of Borsheim's 15 points (73.3%) and 11 of Filipic's 14 (78.6%) have come on the road.

INTER-MISSIONS - When the Eagles take a lead into an intermission break, they're almost guaranteed a win. Colorado is 13-1-1 when taking a lead into the locker room for the first intermission, and is 19-1-3 with a lead after two periods of play. All-time, Colorado's is 159-5-7 when heading into the third period on top. On the other hand, when trailing at the end of the second they are 3-11-1 this season.

CLOSE CONTESTS - Almost 50 percent (22-47) of the Eagles games have been decided by just one goal, with Colorado going 12-5-5 in such contests. Furthermore, 15 of their other 25 games have come down to a two-goal margin (8-7-0). All-in-all, that means that 78.7 percent of all Eagles games this season have been decided by just one or two goals, with the team going 20-12-5 in such cases.

300 - The Colorado Eagles will be playing in their 300th regular season game when they face the Tulsa Oilers on February 19. The Eagles are 204-71-24 in their first 299 contests, for a winning percentage of .722.

SEABASS PLANTS AN EGG - Newly-acquired goaltender, Sebastien Laplante, registered the first shutout of the season for the Eagles by stopping all 28 shots he faced in the team's 6-0 win against the Scorpions on Sunday. It was the 25th shutout in franchise history.

FIGHTING FILIPIC - Eagles tough-guy Fraser Filipic surpassed 1,000 PIMs on Sunday, becoming the first Colorado player to reach that mark. Of the 1,000 minutes, nearly half have come in the way of fighting majors (480).

PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF - Eagles All-Star defenseman, Aaron Schneekloth, recently missed five games due to injury, but he made his presence felt in his first game back by notching a goal on his only shot and adding a pair of assists. That production kept his scoring streak going to five games (1-8-9). He's currently in the to five among d-men in goals, points, shooting percentage, power play goals and game-winners.

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