CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Week In Review

Published on November 3, 2008 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Thursday, October 30; Eagles' PK, Record Perfect; Team Now 7-0

BOSSIER CITY, LA - The Colorado Eagles pushed their record to a perfect 7-0 - tied for the third-longest winning streak in team history - with a 3-2 victory over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs tonight. Both teams were undefeated coming into the contest, but Colorado was able to shut down the league's top-ranked power play unit coming in (by killing all 10 of the Mudbugs' man-advantage chances) as part of their win. Andrew Penner got his fourth win in net, stopping 47 of 49 shots.

The Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 8:56 of play on their first seven shots, and went 2-3 on the power play overall in the first frame. Riley Nelson got Colorado on the board quickly - notching his 13th point of the season to tie him for the league lead - just 1:14 in. The goal occurred after a Kevin Ulanski rebound came right to a wide open Erik Adams in the left circle, the defenseman then dished the puck to Nelson (who was also all alone) in the low slot. Ryan Tobler then added to his league-leading power-play goal total at 2:27 by cleaning up in front of the Mudbugs' net.

Neil Clark and Adam Knight squared off immediately after the following faceoff, and that seemed to at least slow the bleeding for Bossier-Shreveport. But just about six minutes later, the Eagles top line drew a penalty after an extended cycle in the Mudbugs' zone, and Konrad Reeder was able to capitalize on their second straight power play of the period when he picked up the loose puck in the left circle and zoomed to the front of the net where he jammed it past Ryan Mior.

The second period saw the Mudbugs out-shoot Colorado 17-10, aided largely by a full two minute 5-on-3 advantage, followed immediately by two consecutive minutes of 5-on-4. But the Eagles' penalty-killers stood strong throughout the four minute barrage by the CHL's leading power play unit coming into the game and Penner stayed perfect through two periods.

But the Mudbugs continued to gain momentum in the third, receiving all four of the period's power plays and out-shooting the Eagles by an incredible 21-4. They finally broke through at 11:16. Penner stopped a series of shots, the first coming from the right circle against JJ Martin, but the rebound came out between the hashes for Clark. Penner came out to challenge and stopped Clark's first shot, but the Mudbug forward got his own rebound and swept it into the vacated net. And just under two minutes later, Kevin Cooper made it a one-goal game when he tipped in a Simon Mangos shot from the doorstep. But Colorado held on to the lead, having killed 37 of their past 39 penalties successfully (dating back to October 22) - including one as time ran out.

Friday, October 31; 'Kings Give Eagles Scare, But Colorado Moves to 8-0

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - The Colorado Eagles improved their franchise-best start to 8-0 tonight with a 4-2 win against the Mississippi RiverKings. The game marked Head Coach Kevin McClelland's return to Mississippi, and his new team made sure it was a successful one, as the team's winning streak is now the third-longest in team history at any point in a season.

The opening 20 minutes of play were fairly quiet, with both goaltenders silencing every shot they faced and both penalty-killing units going a perfect 3-3. Jay Birnie and David Simoes attempted to turn things up when they dropped the gloves at 15:43, but no carryover resulted for either club.

The second period saw Colorado take a 2-1 lead, as Greg Pankewicz started the scoring just 1:24 in while both teams staked 4-on-4. The Eagles' captain took the puck off the right wing boards, circled up and around the faceoff circle and then deftly stepped right around the lone RiverKings defender before blasting an uncontested shot past Kevin Beech from the high slot. But the RiverKings answered at 8:07 when Louis Dumont was sprung on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box, and he blasted his own uncontested shot past Morgan Cey from the left hash marks. Konrad Reeder restored the Eagles' lead at 14:39 after collecting a turnover just inside the offensive zone. His initial shot from the high slot was stopped by the Mississippi netminder, but the diminutive forward picked up his own rebound, skated to the right of the net to get Beech to go down, and deposited the puck top shelf on a sharp-angled shot.

The CHL's top power play finally broke through in the third with Aaron Schneekloth getting the game-winner at 6:41 on a shot from the high slot. But at the time, the RiverKings made it interesting by answering just 18 seconds later when Dane Marshall found Dallas Costanzo alone in the low slot with a dish from behind the net to restore the game's tension. The score remained 3-2, Colorado, until the final minute when Riley Nelson was able to deflect a Jason Beatty shot into an empty net with 52 seconds remaining.

Saturday, November 1; RiverKings Hand Colorado First Loss of Season

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - The Mississippi RiverKings defeated the Colorado Eagles, 6-2 tonight, handing the defending Northern Conference champions their first loss of the season. The third-longest winning streak in franchise history came to an end for the Eagles, as they finished the longest road trip of their season by playing a set of three-games-in-three-nights for the second consecutive weekend.

The opening period ended with three special teams goals, and a 2-1 lead for the RiverKings. Mississippi struck first with a power play marker at 7:38 when Brad Bonello cleaned up a Stephen Margeson rebound from the low slot. The Eagles answered with a power-play tally of their own, however, just under six minutes later when Scott Polaski scored from between the circles. The play developed when Greg Pankewicz threaded a pass from the left-wing boards, through the RiverKings' defense, to Kevin Ulanski in the right circle. Ulanski then sent a one-touch pass to Riley Nelson in the low slot, but his shot was blocked and Polaski put home the rebound. The goal moved Polaski into sole possession of 7th place on the team's all-time scoring list with 121 points (49-72-121).

The final goal of the period also came with the Eagles up a man, but unfortunately for Colorado, it was scored by Louis Dumont of the 'Kings. After a turnover in the neutral zone, Derek Landmesser sent Dumont in on a short-handed breakaway, and the former star of the ECHL beat Andrew Penner, 5-hole, at 17:42.

The second period saw much of the same as the Eagles were out-scored 2-1, and both a power-play and short-handed goal were scored. Adam Smyth made it 3-1 Mississippi at 4:09 after he brought the puck out of the right corner and chipped a shot past Penner on his backhand. But Colorado answered with their own short-handed marker just over three minutes later when Jay Birnie hit Erik Adams and Nelson on a 2-on-1 break, resulting in Nelson's CHL-leading second shortie of the season. The RiverKings made it a two-goal lead again with another man-advantage marker at 16:31 -- just two seconds into the power play -- when Bobby Chaumont won the faceoff back to Jeff Alcombrack, who's shot made its way through a slew of bodies in front of the Colorado cage.

The RiverKings added two more goals in the final frame, the first coming just over five minutes in, when Matt Summers skated the puck down the right-wing, met some traffic in the right circle, and flipped a pass to Jeff Nelson alone in the slot for a 5-2 lead. Mississippi added the final goal of the game about 10 minutes later when Dallas Costanzo's shot from the right circle was kicked aside by Penner, but deflected off of Matt Pierce and into the goal.

The Eagles finished their road trip, 4-1, and sit at 8-1 on the season. Their next game will be on Saturday, November 8 against the Rapid City Rush at the Budweiser Events Center. Seven of their next eight matches -- and seven of their remaining nine November games -- will be at home.

The Week Ahead

Saturday, November 8; Eagles & Rush Faceoff Again

After opening the season with a pair of high-flying shootouts, the Eagles and Rush will renew acquaintances on Saturday in Colorado's first home game since October 24. Heading into the week, Rapid City ranks second in the Northwest Division, and has made a habit of playing close contests; four of their seven games have gone past regulation, and they've scored just three more goals than they've allowed all year (30-27).

Notable Numbers

8 IS GREAT - The Eagles' 8-game winning streak to start the season - broken with their loss in Mississippi on Saturday - ranks as the third-longest winning streak in franchise history.

POINT-STREAK - The Eagles' Riley Nelson is riding the longest point streak in the league at nine games - having registered a point in every game this season. His 17 points (5-12-17) heading into the week, are good for second overall in the league (Hansen, 18, RPD).

POWER FORWARD, POWER NUMBERS - Colorado power forward Ryan Tobler has a great opening series against the Rush, posting 6 points (2-4-6) in the season's first two games to lead the team; five of those six points came on the power play (2-3-5). He also leads the team in points at the Budweiser Events Center with 8 (4-4-8), (4-3-7) on the power play.

ANOTHER SHOOTOUT? - The Eagles and Rush played a pair of closely contested games to open the season - both ending up in shootouts. The Eagles are 3-0 this season in shootouts, largely due to stellar goaltending. Andrew Penner (4-4) and Morgan Cey (10-11) have stopped a combined 14-15 shots in such cases (93.3%).

TEAM LEADER - Assistant Captain Riley Nelson led the Eagles in scoring last season (37-54-91), and is off to a solid start again this year. Nelson currently leads the team in points (17), assists (12) and multi-point games (5).

BLUE LINE, RED LIGHT - Colorado has the three of the top four scoring defensemen in the CHL, led by hard-hitting Erik Adams (3-8-11) and the transplanted Scott Polaski (2-9-11). All-Star Aaron Schneekloth (2-7-9) ranks fourth.

POWERFUL ASSISTANCE - Riley Nelson and Scott Polaski are tied for second on the team in power-play points (each with 8), but have only one man-advantage goal between them. Polaski got the lone goal on Saturday night to go with his seven assists. Nelson's 8 power-play assists are tied for tops in the league (Hansen, RPD).

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics

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Central Hockey League Stories from November 3, 2008


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