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CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Week In Review

November 10, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Monday, November 3; This Month's NoCo Hockey Show is Now Airing

Fans,

The November edition of the Colorado Eagles NoCo Hockey Show is now airing on Altitude Sports & Entertainment. The half-hour monthly show enters its second season of bringing you the best of Eagles entertainment. The Voice of the Eagles, Tori Holt, hosts the show along with Kevin McGlue as reporters Lauren Gardner and Ben Huelsing take a look at the team both on and off the ice.

This month's show features: a look back at the Les Borsheim Benefit game - including an interview with Les, a one-on-one interview with Captain Greg Pankewicz, Scott Polaski teaching Lauren Gardner how to skate, Erik Adams and Tori Holt hitting the links with some fans to raise money for the Colorado Eagles Foundation, Riley Nelson mic'd up on opening night (including his game-winning shootout goal) and a new feature called "Don't Quit Your Day Job" featuring forward Ed McGrane...you won't want to miss it!

Below is a full list of this month's airings:

Sunday, November 2: 10 p.m.

Tuesday, November 4: 10 a.m.

Saturday, November 8: 5 p.m.

Sunday, November 9: 6:30 a.m.

Monday, November 10: 11 p.m.

Wednesday, November 12: 7 p.m.

Monday, November 17: 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 18: 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, November 22: 6 p.m.

Wednesday, November 26: 10:30 a.m.

Friday, November 28: 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 30: 10 p.m.

Be sure to check your local listings for Altitude Sports & Entertainment and additional Colorado Eagles hockey coverage!

Thursday, November 6; Eagles Preparing for Special Veteran's Day Game

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League will be holding a special Military Appreciation Night game on Veteran's Day, Tuesday, November 11. The Eagles hold a military appreciation night during a home game every November, but this year's efforts go above and beyond the normal protocol.

Heading into the season, the Eagles set a goal of filling the Budweiser Events Center (capacity: 5,289) with military members - both past and present - and their families as a way of paying tribute and giving back to those who have given so much themselves.

In order to fill the arena, the Eagles (who have sold out every game in their history) asked their 4,000 season ticket holders to join the cause by donating their tickets for the November 11 game. Over 1,500 ticket holders and sponsors turned their seats over to the team to redistribute, and the majority of the others donated their tickets to their military friends or kept them as military members themselves.

The Eagles teamed up with American Military Family - a non-profit group - to help them redistribute the tickets donated to them, and were able to allocate tickets all across Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming to the Colorado Air National Guard, the CSU ROTC, the 10th Special Forces Unit, the FE Warren and Buckley Air Force Bases, Fort Carson, the Windsor Legion and others.

The night's festivities will feature special camouflage jerseys (courtesy of Meadow Gold) worn by the Eagles, a flight simulator set up outside the arena prior to the game (courtesy of the Air National Guard), commemorative t-shirts on every seat (courtesy of Water Valley), special in-game video tributes from active military members serving overseas and other special events, including a first intermission comedy act.

The game (scheduled for 7:05 p.m. MST) will be broadcast in its entirety on Altitude Sports & Entertainment, with a broadcast time of 8:00 p.m. - the one-hour delay is due to programming conflicts. To help facilitate their fans, and say "Thank You" for donating their tickets, the Eagles will be showing a live feed of the game in the First National Bank Exhibition Hall adjacent to the arena. The viewing party will include food and drink (provided by Ovations Food Services).

Military members who are attending the game are being encouraged to wear their uniforms to help lend legitimacy and impact to the event. Also, a photo-op will take place after the game where military members in attendance will be invited onto the ice.

The Colorado Eagles would like to thank their season ticket holders, American Military Family and all of the participating military organizations for helping to make this special event possible. And above all, we'd like to thank the men and women who have served and continue to serve our great country.

-- -- --

Season Ticket Holders: If you have not donated your tickets, but have a friend or family member in mind, please consider giving them your tickets. If you have been unable to find someone to donate your tickets to, feel free to come and enjoy the game yourself - you will not be turned away. Our goal is always to have a full building!

Friday, November 7; Eagles Help Open Another "Boundless" Playground

WINDSOR, Colo. - Last October, the Colorado Eagles helped celebrate the opening of Inspiration Playground in Fort Collins, a handicap-accessible playground that the Colorado Eagles Foundation contributed $250,000 toward constructing. Inspiration Playground was the first "boundless" playground in the state, and at the Grand Opening ceremonies, team CEO Martin Lind vowed to continue building similar playgrounds across Northern Colorado. Just over a year later, the Eagles are set to help open another one at Windsor's Boardwalk Park.

The Eagles contributed $25,000 to the playground's construction and Lind challenged the local community to help him match those funds. He was quickly able to match the $25,000, and added another $5,000 through Water Valley's annual Fish 'n Chip golf tournament. "We're all proud to be involved in this playground," said Lind, "and we'll continue to build them throughout the region."

At noon on Saturday, November 8, representatives from the Eagles and the Town of Windsor will be at the corner of Ash and 5th Streets to officially open the playground to the public. "We are extremely excited about this boundless playground," said Melissa Chew, the Director of Parks & Recreation for the Town of Windsor. "I think it's certainly an attractive and beneficial addition to the community, and will provide an opportunity for children of all abilities to play together side-by-side."

Friday, November 7; MHSM Calls Eagles Minor League Model Nationwide

Fans,

Check out this month's Mile High Sports Magazine, where the publication gave your Colorado Eagles an incredible compliment. The feature can be found in the November edition, on Page 21. The Colorado Eagles would like to thank Mile High Sports Magazine for the kind words.

Friday, November 7; Third Line, Nelson Lead Eagles Over Rush

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles defeated the Rapid City Rush, 3-1, tonight to improve to 9-1 on the season. The game was Colorado's first in a week, and saw the third line of Steve Haddon, Adam Hogg and Brett Hammond set the tone, and Riley Nelson set a new franchise record on his 31st birthday. The Eagles' netminding and penalty killing continued to impress as Morgan Cey stopped 28 of 29 shots and the penalty-killers successfully dispatched 9 of 10 Rapid City power plays.

The Eagles looked a little sluggish in the first period, and Rapid City contributed by constantly clogging lanes and making it difficult for Colorado to click. After both teams seemed to feel their way through the opening frame, the Rush scored a power play goal at 13:34 when Chris Lipsett deflected a Jamie VanderVeeken point shot as he skated across the crease from left to right. The Eagles had a great chance to answer with 1:13 worth of 5-on-3 play toward the end of the period, but couldn't capitalize and the period ended 1-0 Rapid City.

Colorado came out clicking on all cylinders in the second period, scoring three goals in the period to take the lead. Adam Hogg got the Eagles on the board with his first point of the season on a goal at 3:11. The play developed after Steve Haddon won the faceoff in the left circle back to Scott Polaski, whose shot from the point was steered past Lanny Ramage from the slot. Just 26 seconds later, Riley Nelson set a new franchise record as he scored from in front off a Kevin Ulanski pass from behind the net. The game-winning goal gave the Eagles' veteran forward an 18-game point streak, breaking his own record of 17 games (two other times); his current streak dates back to March 8 of last season.

The Eagles withstood an extended Rush two-man advantage as the period hit its midpoint, and Haddon made it a 3-1 lead for Colorado at 13:53 when he scored on a breakaway -- his backhand shot just sneaking through the Rush netminder and across the goal line.

The third period saw plenty of special teams play -- with the Eagles killing penalties for the final 2:25, including a 6-on-3 disadvantage when Rapid City pulled Ramage -- but Colorado stood strong, killing the final eight Rush power-plays of the game.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, November 11; Military Appreciation Night on Veteran's Day

The Eagles will take on the Tulsa Oilers in their annual Military Appreciation Night, but this year's efforts go above and beyond the normal protocol as the building will be full of military members and their families - thanks to the thousands of season ticket holders who donated their tickets.

The night's festivities will feature special camouflage jerseys (courtesy of Meadow Gold) worn by the Eagles, a flight simulator set up outside the arena prior to the game (courtesy of the Air National Guard), commemorative t-shirts on every seat (courtesy of Water Valley), special in-game video tributes from active military members serving overseas and other special events, including a first intermission comedy act.

Friday, November 14; Colorado Takes on Oilers for Second Time in Four Days

The Eagles will close out their pair of home games against the Oilers, who they are 22-5-1 against all-time heading into the week, including 12-3-1 at the Budweiser Events Center. If history holds true, Tulsa will be glad it's their final game at the BEC this season.

Notable Numbers

QUITE A GOAL - The goal that Riley Nelson scored in Saturday night's win over the Rush not only extended his point-streak to a franchise record 18 games, it was also the game-winner. As such, it moved him into second place on the team's all-time list with 29 game-winners, and it also moved him past Greg Pankewicz into first on the team's all-time goal list with 177.

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY - By registering a point in Saturday night's win, Riley Nelson extended his point-streak to a franchise best 18 games. In doing so, he broke his own record of 17 games, which he had reached two previous times.

RECORD-SETTING START - The Eagles are off to their best start in franchise history, sitting at 9-1 after the first 10 games. Their previous high-water mark after 10 games was in 2006-07 when they went 8-2. Colorado started the season with an eight game winning streak, the third longest winning streak in franchise history. The Eagles currently have the most wins in the league (9), and are tied with Oklahoma City for most points (18) and highest winning percentage (.900).

SPECIAL STATS - Colorado owns the top power play in the league at 26.19% and has scored more power-play goals than anyone else with 22. But their penalty-killing units haven't been too shabby either, recently surging to 6th in the league at 83.16%; in their past six games, the Eagles' PK units have gone a combined 53-58 (91.4%).

POWER-play-FORWARD - Veteran Ryan Tobler, annually among the top power forwards in the league, is tied for second in the CHL with six power play goals. Those tallies have helped him on the way to having the second-best shooting percentage among players with over 20 shots (.280). His shooting percentage at home this season is a Ted Williams-like .400.

COLORADO COUPLE - The Eagles' have a pair of defenseman with ties to local colleges who are leading the league in scoring. Scott Polaski (Colorado College) - a recent transfer from forward - leads the league with 12 points (2-10-12) and Erik Adams (University of Denver) is tied for second with 11 (3-8-11). All-Star Aaron Schneekloth is just two points behind at 9 (2-7-9).

STRIKING OIL - The Eagles have dominated the Oilers since they've come into the league, compiling an overall record of 22-5-1 against Tulsa - including a mark of 12-3-1 at the Budweiser Events Center. In those 16 home games, the Eagles have out-scored the Oilers 71-32.

APPROACHING 200 - On Friday night, the Eagles will reach 200 consecutive sellouts at the Budweiser Events Center (including playoffs games). Tuesday night's game will be the 199th consecutive, and the 163rd consecutive regular season sellout - a minor pro hockey record.

INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY - There are just four players in the league who have played in at least 10 games, but registered as few as two penalty minutes, and half of them are on the Eagles. University of Denver alumni, Kevin Ulanski picked up his first minor penalty in the Eagles' last game, and Brett Hammond picked up his only penalty on October 30.

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics

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