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CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Week In Review

December 22, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Week In Review

Monday, December 15; Kevin Ulanski Named CHL's Player of the Week

(LEAGUE RELEASE) - The Central Hockey League announced today that the recipients for the Oakley CHL Player and Goaltender of the Week for the period ending December 14th, 2008 are forward Kevin Ulanski of the Colorado Eagles and goaltender Dustin Traylen of the Corpus Christi IceRays.

Ulanski had six points in three games for the Northwest Division and Northern Conference leading Eagles. Colorado went 2-1 on the week and the Madison, Wisconsin native had points in each game and scored the game winning goal in each victory. In his first CHL season, the former Denver University star ranks just outside the league's top 10 with 31 points (11-20=31). Last week, he notched the game winning shootout goal and an assist in the Eagles 3-2 win in at Rapid City. After recording an assist in Colorado's loss to Amarillo, Ulanski scored the game winner and had a pair of assists in the team's 7-5 win versus Arizona.

In recognition of their achievement, both Ulanski and Traylen will receive a special gift from Oakley.

Oakley CHL Player of the Week

Kevin Ulanski, Colorado Eagles

Position: F

(Weekly Totals)

Games Played: 3

Goals: 2

Assists: 4

Points: 6

Plus/Minus: E

GWG's: 2

Wednesday, December 17; Blazers Even Series With Shootout Win of Their Own

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles lost in a shootout to the Oklahoma City Blazers, 3-2, as the top two teams in the Northern Conference squared of at the Budweiser Events Center. Fittingly, the game saw two of the league's top netminders -- Oklahoma City's Andy Franck and Colorado's Andrew Penner -- go toe-to-toe in the second shootout game between the two teams in as many match-ups this season; Colorado won the previous shootout, 2-1.

True to the intensity of the game, the fisticuffs started early and in rapid succession when Adam Knight and Robin Gomez dropped the gloves just 1:43 in, setting off a series of back-to-back-to-back fights. Jay Birnie and Justin Sawyer went at it immediately after the ensuing faceoff and Jason Beatty decidedly won his battle with Cam Doull following the next faceoff.

Colorado got on the scoreboard first when -- off of a faceoff win in the left circle at 7:52 -- Tom Reimann's shot from the point had eyes and snuck through Franck's pads. The rest of the period saw several power-play opportunities for the Blazers -- five in all -- before they finally converted for a 4-on-3 score with just 40 seconds left in the opening frame when Ted Vandermeer cashed in from the left side of the Eagles' net.

Colorado out-shot Oklahoma City 14-7 in the second period, and had several close calls thwarted by Blazers not named Franck. The first instance came at 5:20 when Sawyer laid out across the goal line to stop a puck that had gotten by the Blazers' netminder. Then at 7:07, Simon Lambert backhanded the puck into the empty half of Colorado's net to make it 2-1 Oklahoma City after Penner made a series of stellar saves at the right side of the net before the puck found its way to Lambert alone at the left side.

Then at 10:43, Jason Murfitt prevented a sure Eagles' goal by sweeping the puck off the goal line after it had gotten by Franck. On the ensuing penalty shot, Konrad Reeder had the Blazers' goaltender beat but couldn't get the puck high enough over his right leg and the score remained 2-1. Franck continued to play strong as he stopped Riley Nelson on a short-handed breakaway at 11:30. But with just 48 seconds left in the period, Aaron Schneekloth was able to tie the score by chipping in a loose puck from in front of the Oklahoma City crease.

The teams continued to go blow-for-blow through the third period and a scoreless overtime, forcing the game to a shootout for the second consecutive time for the two clubs this season.

In the shootout, Riley Nelson went first and beat Franck high on the glove side, but he was the only Eagle to score out of five. And when Lambert beat Penner as Oklahoma City's second shooter, it was the first time Penner had allowed a shootout goal all season. Then Chad Hinz -- the Blazers' next shooter -- beat him again to win the game for the Northeast leading Blazers.

Thursday, December 18; Colorado Eagles Holiday Office Hours

Eagles Fans,

We'd like to wish you a happy Holiday Season, and remind you that we too will be enjoying some time with our families and friends. Below you can find a schedule of our office hours for the rest of the year.

Our office hours will remain normal (8:30-5, Mon-Fri on non-game days / 8:30-3 on weekday game days) except for the following days in which we will be closed:

Friday, December 19

Tuesday, December 23

Wednesday, December 24

Thursday, December 25

Friday, December 26

Wednesday, December 31

Thursday, January 1

Friday, January 2

Again, we'd like to wish you "Happy Holidays," and thank you for supporting Colorado Eagles hockey!

Friday, December 19; Eagles Win Again in New Mexico, Improve to 19-4-1

RIO RANCHO, N.M. - The Colorado Eagles defeated the New Mexico Scorpions, 4-3, at the Santa Ana Star Center in what has become a pattern between the two clubs. Entering the evening, the Eagles held a 27-3-4 record all-time against the Scorpions, including a mark of 12-3-1 on the road. And to make matters worse for the 'Scorps this time around, they were just 3-7-1 on home ice this season and looking at the first of two games in as many nights against the Eagles.

Colorado carried the play for the first half of the opening period, but Scorpions goaltender Andrew Martin kept the game scoreless until the 14:14 mark when Greg Pankewicz snapped home a power-play goal off the crossbar (Konrad Reeder had already hit two posts in the first 12 and a half minutes of play); the goal increased the Eagles' captain's league-leading total to 19. But at 15:39, New Mexico answered with their own power-play goal when Craig Macdonald converted a back-door pass from along the left boards to tie the game at 1. The Scorpions nearly made it 2-1 via another man-advantage marker with just over a minute left in the first when Mike MacDonald's blast from between the circles was snared by Morgan Cey who had come out into the low slot to challenge and keep the score knotted up.

Mitch Stephens was able to give the Scorpions that 2-1 lead at 2:55 of the second with another power-play goal (just after a 5-on-3 advantage had expired) after Aaron MacInnis' shot from the right wing boards went wide, but bounced off the end boards and right to Stephens at the left side of the net. But Reeder tied it back up at 10:39 with the Eagles' second power-play tally of the evening when he picked up the puck at the left post, stepped in front and shot it between Martin and the pipe.

Then, less than a minute and a half later, Ed McGrane made it 3-2 by deflecting a Pankewicz shot on his backhand from the right of the crease, beating Martin as he moved right to left. And just over a minute and a half after that, Adam Hogg scored his 5th goal of the season off a beautiful feed from Steve Haddon. Kevin Ulanski and Haddon had cycled the puck around the right faceoff circle before the Eagles veteran took it to the net and sent a deft backhand pass through the low slot to Hogg crashing on the opposite side.

In the final frame, the Eagles out-shot the Scorpions 13-7, but it was New Mexico that got the period's lone goal when Andrew Smale's shot from atop the right circle beat Cey at 9:07 to cut Colorado's lead to a single goal. But Cey and the Eagles would hang on the rest of the way to notch their 13th victory on the road against New Mexico all-time -- more than any other opponent. The two teams will play the second half of their back-to-back games Saturday night.

Saturday, December 20; Ulanski's OT Winner Ends Goaltending Duel

RIO RANCHO, N.M. - The Colorado Eagles completed a weekend sweep of the New Mexico Scorpions, winning their second game in as many nights, this time by a score of 2-1. The game featured strong play from both goaltenders -- Andrew Penner for the Eagles and Jason Wolfe for the Scorpions -- and ended on a controversial call just 45 seconds into the extra frame.

Neither team could find the back of the net in the first, but just like Friday night, the majority of the action occurred in Colorado's offensive zone. The Eagles held a 17-10 edge in shots after the first 20 minutes of play, but Jason Wolfe made some big saves to keep Colorado from jumping out on top early.

Wolfe continued his strong play to start the second, and as the period moved on the momentum swung in New Mexico's favor. As the Scorpions began to carry the play, Penner got his chance to showcase his talent and the game turned into a goaltending duel. But at 17:10, skating 4-on-4, Ed McGrane drew first blood with a great individual play. He gathered the puck along the right wing boards entering the New Mexico zone, cut through the low right circle to split a pair of Scorpions defenders and roofed a shot past Wolfe from the doorstep to put Colorado in the lead.

In the third, New Mexico evened the score at 1 at the 5:58 mark when Christopher Robertson won a faceoff in the right circle directly back to Ben Chaisson who scored his first goal of the season on a shot from the point. But both netminders continued their strong play and both teams withstood late penalties to force the game into overtime.

Just 45 seconds into the overtime period, Kevin Ulanski -- stationed at the left post -- was able to backhand an Erik Adams rebound that had snuck through Wolfe to end the game, but the New Mexico goaltender was adamant that the puck didn't cross the goal line. Referee Justin Greene was directly behind the net when he initially called it a goal, and he conferred with the goal judge to uphold the ruling.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, December 23; Eagles Look to Avenge Loss to Gorillas

Colorado finishes up their three game road trip with their third meeting this season against the Gorillas. So far, the two teams have each won on the opponent's home ice, with the latest match-up producing a 5-3 Eagles loss on Dec. 12. All-time the Eagles are 5-5-2 on Amarillo's small ice surface, including their 6-2 win earlier this season.

Friday, December 26; Conference Powers Clash Again

The Southeast-leading Laredo Bucks will come to Loveland for the fourth time in the regular season. All-time, Colorado is 4-4-1 against the Bucks, including a 2-1-0 mark at home. The Bucks are a perennial power in the South, representing their conference in the President's Cup finals from 2004-2007 - alternating championships with the Eagles in those years.

Saturday, December 27; Scorpions Come to House of Horrors

After sweeping a two-game weekend series in New Mexico last weekend, the Scorpions will come to the Budweiser Events Center looking for their first ever regulation win in Loveland. The Eagles hold an all-time record of 29-3-4 against the 'Scorps, including 15-0-3 at home. Their .861 winning percentage against New Mexico is their highest against any active opponent they've played at least 10 times.

Notable Numbers

SHARK HUNTING - The Colorado Eagles' winning percentage of .820 (20-4-1) is the second highest in all of professional hockey at or above the 'AA' level. The only team with a better percentage is the NHL's San Jose Sharks (.833) who are off to a scorching 26-4-3 start. The Eagles are the first team in the CHL to reach the 20-win mark this season, and lead the league in points with 41.

COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH - Eagles forward Kevin Ulanski has three game-winning goals on the year, tying him for the team lead. But more impressively, he's scored all three since December 10th and they've accounted for three of Colorado's last four game-winning scores - including their latest in Saturday night's overtime win against New Mexico.

HARD TO BEAT - Goaltender Andrew Penner is tied for the league lead in wins (12) despite playing five fewer games than his co-leader (Kevin Beech, MIS). Penner also is among the league's leaders in GAA (2.46, 7th) and SV% (.927, tied 3rd) and has allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of 14 games.

FAST SKATER, FAST LEARNER - Forward-turned defenseman Scott Polaski is playing like a seasoned vet on the back end. He's currently in second among d-men in scoring (4-20-24), first in assists (20), tied for 5th in plus/minus (+11) and tied for second in game-winning goals (2).

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS - The Eagles will be playing Laredo and New Mexico in a pair of home games this weekend following Christmas, and if history holds true, they should be glad their home for the holidays. All-time, Colorado has a combined home record of 17-1-3 against the Bucks (2-1-0) and 'Scorps (15-0-3).

PUTTING LEADS ON ICE - Colorado is a perfect 16-0-0 when taking a lead into the second period this season. And combined with last season, the Eagles are 42-1-4 when up after 40 minutes of play.

CLOSE CALLS - Seventeen of Colorado's 25 games have been decided by two or fewer goals (68 percent). The Eagles are 7-1-1 in games decided by a single score, and 7-1-0 in games decided by two. Last season, 75 percent of the Eagles' games (48-64) were decided by the same margins.

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics



Central Hockey League Stories from December 22, 2008


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