CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Week In Review

Published on January 19, 2009 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Week In Review

Wednesday, January 14; Eagles Soar Above The Stars in CHL All-Star Game

(LEAGUE RELEASE) - LOVELAND, Colo. - The 2009 CHL All-Star Game took on a unique format on Wednesday night at the Budweiser Events Center in Northern Colorado with the host team, the Colorado Eagles, taking on a team of CHL All-Stars. The game featured an "Old Time Hockey" theme and the players on the ice brought that slogan into the world of reality with a highly-competitive, intense game in front of a sellout crowd of 5,289.

The Eagles lit up the crowd with a five-goal third period en route to an 8-4 victory.

The star of the night was Konrad Reeder as the first-year Eagle earned the game's Most Valuable Player Award with four goals and an assist. Laredo's Darryl Smith Earned the MVP Award for the CHL All-Stars scoring a goal with an assist.

In the game, it took 72 seconds for teamwork to show its value as the Eagles rushed the puck into the offensive zone making three passes that culminated with a Konrad Reeder one-timer from the left circle. Kevin Ulanski and Ed McGrane earned the assists with Ulanski's cross-ice pass setting up the Reeder blast at 1:12 of the first period. It was the sixth point in all-star play for Reeder and the first of five points on the night (he notched a goal and four assists in last year's contest for the Southern Conference).

Some intricacies of the game showed later in the period, ones that you don't usually see in an all-star game as Eagles defenseman Tom Reimann went to a knee to block a Russ Moyer blast and the first hit of the game came from who else, Fraser Filipic, who knocked New Mexico defenseman Aaron MacInnis to the ice with a hard check to the left of the all-star's net.

The Eagles extended their lead at the 8:41 mark with a history-making goal from Greg Pankewicz who turned and beat all-star goaltender Andy Franck for his ninth career all-star goal setting the all-time CHL record for goals in all-star play. Erik Adams and Reeder earned the assists. Pankewicz is also the all-star leader with 18 points.

The first penalty in an all-star game since 2006 was called at the 14:55 mark on Colorado's Steve Haddon for hooking. The all-stars were unable to convert on the power play.

A majority of the remainder of the period belonged to Eagles goaltender Andrew Penner (19-1-1 on the season) who stopped 17 straight shots to begin the game before being beat by Rio Grande Valley rookie defenseman Nicolas Dumoulin who pinched in on the left wing and took a laser pass from Amarillo defenseman Sam Ftorek and pushed it past Penner at the 19:15 mark.

The score was 2-1 after one period with the CHL All-Stars outshooting the Eagles 18-9.

The CHL All-Stars needed just 23 seconds to tie the score in the second period with Laredo rookie Darryl Smith taking a pass that was banked off the wall by Odessa's Dominic Leveille and quickly snapping it over the shoulder of Penner.

Laredo goaltender Sebastien Centomo began the period in net ending the night Franck who finished with seven saves on nine shots.

The all-stars had a chance to take the lead with a second power play chance but again failed to convert but instead shortly after the penalty expired fell behind again. The go-ahead goal was scored by Reeder (his third point of the night) assisted by Ed McGrane who made a great pass to the back door for Reeder to finish. McGrane and Reimann earned the assists giving the Eagles a 3-2 lead.

Penner's night was done leading 3-2 when he was pulled at the 9:04 mark for Morgan Cey. Penner ended his outstanding night with 25 saves on 27 shots.

Cey was welcomed to the game rather quickly facing a flurry of scoring chances from the all-stars and was most noticeable with about six minutes remaining in the period stopping Bossier-Shreveport's Travis Clayton after Leveille found him with a behind the back pass. Cey followed that up by robbing Ftorek in front of the net in what looked like a sure score.

The all-stars tied the game on a two-man rush up the ice led by Odessa defenseman Russ Moyer who played give-and-go with Mississippi's Bobby Chaumont and eventually went to the backhand lifting a shot by Cey. Chaumont drew the only assist on the Moyer goal which tied the score at three goals apiece after two periods. The all-stars outshot the Eagles 19-11 in the period and led 37-20 in the game.

Reeder continued his magnificent night early in the final period when he took a pass from Pankewicz and scored his third goal of the night at the 1:12 mark of the period. The hat trick gave the Eagles a 4-3 lead in the game.

Colorado added to their lead by taking advantage of an all-star turnover. McGrane intercepted a pass, was slick with the puck, pulled it away from the opposition and snapped it by Centomo extending the lead to 5-3 at the 4:02 mark.

The Eagles started to pull away later in the period with Riley Nelson banging a one-timer by Centomo on the power play at the 5:13 mark. Scott Polaski and Ryan Tobler earned the helpers pushing the score to 6-3.

Reeder's storybook night continued with a shorthanded goal giving Colorado a 7-3 lead at the 8:26 mark of the final period. Kevin Ulanski was given the assist.

Jay Birnie got in on the scoring act scoring late in the third period adding to the Eagles lead and giving the club a five-goal third period. Aaron Schneekloth and Tobler assisted on the goal scored at the 15:12 mark of the frame.

The all-star got a late power play and responded with Joel Irving scoring a goal cutting the lead to 8-4 with just over a minute remaining. Smith and MacInnis earned the assists for the all-stars.

The final shots in the game favored the all-stars 47-30. Cey finished the night making 20 saves in just over half of the game and earned the win. Centomo stopped 16 shots taking the loss for the all-stars.

Wednesday, January 15; Eagles, NCYH Reach Out To Renegades

WINDSOR, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles have offered free membership to the Mountain States Renegades youth hockey club to participate as Northern Colorado Junior Eagles for the remainder of the 2008-09 season. The Renegades' home rink was recently shut down due to dangerous carbon monoxide levels.

"We're more than happy to be offering this opportunity to the Renegades players," said Colorado Eagles President and General Manager Chris Stewart. "They're obviously in a tough spot, and we're in a position to help."

"We believe that hockey is a great sport, and that it teaches our children valuable life lessons," said Northern Colorado Youth Hockey Director Aaron Grosul. "This isn't about the Renegades or the Jr. Eagles. This is about doing what's right and helping youth hockey in Northern Colorado." The NCYH Junior Eagles practice at the NoCo Ice Center in Windsor, Colorado.

Thursday, January 16; Pick Up Your Stanley Cup Photos

Eagles Fans,

If you had your photo taken with the Stanley Cup at the 2009 CHL All-Star Game, we've got your photos ready for pick-up! You can collect your photos either at our office in Water Valley or at Guest Services at any of our games in the near future. To help speed up the process, it would be helpful if you found your photo in our online gallery (CLICK HERE); each photo is numbered at the top left, and this number will help us find your photo upon pick-up.

If you'd like us to mail you your photo, please contact us at (970) 686-SHOT (7468) with your photo number and a brief description of what you're wearing in the photo, and we will be happy to send it to you ASAP.

Thanks for your cooperation and donation!

Friday, January 17; Ulanski's Hat Trick Makes Difference in Win

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Northern Conference-leading Colorado Eagles defeated the Southern Conference-leading Odessa Jackalopes, 6-3, on the strength of a Kevin Ulanski hat trick (Colorado's sixth of the season) and another team-wide offensive outburst. The Jackalopes scored all three of their goals on the power play, but it wasn't enough to top the CHL's highest-scoring team; the Eagles scored six or more goals for the twelfth time this season, out-doing their 11 from 2007-08.

The first period played out just as one would have expected from the two top teams in the CHL as the Jackalopes and Eagles battled all over the ice for the first 20 minutes of play. Odessa goaltender Jeremy Symington held the Eagles off the scoreboard early, and at 9:49 Mario Joly made it 1-0 for the Jacks with a power play goal. Joly knocked it in from the left side of the crease after receiving a deft pass from between the legs of Kory Karlander on the right side.

But Ulanski answered for Colorado just over a minute later after Erik Adams and Ryan Tobler gained control of the puck behind the Odessa net before the veteran forward found Ulanski skating wide open through the low slot. Then at 11:54, Fraser Filipic turned the intensity up even more when he had his pick between Jean Bourbeau and Joly -- both dropped their gloves -- and chose the imposing defender despite giving up six inches and 75 pounds. The fight failed to spark anything for either team however, and the Jacks added a late 5-on-3 power-play goal with 36 seconds left in the first.

Colorado scored two goals in the second to take a 3-2 lead into the third period, a good sign since both teams were 21-0-0 when leading after two coming into the game (and Odessa was just 0-8-2 when trailing after two). Filipic provided more fireworks in the period, starting at 10:22 when he dropped Bourbeau -- who finally got his shot at the Eagles' pugilist -- with a single swat of his left fist.

Riley Nelson tied the game at 2 at 17:33 -- just after a Jackalopes penalty had expired -- after Aaron Schneekloth's shot from the point was blocked right to the tape of Ulanski who fed Nelson with a cross-ice feed. And Filipic closed the period with a critical late score when his shot from the right circle deflected off a defenseman's skate and past Symington with just 10 seconds left.

Odessa tied the game at three just 49 seconds into the final frame with their third power-play goal of the night (all three of their scores came via the man-advantage) as Mike Lesperance deflected home a Philippe Plante pass from the point, but the Eagles scored the next three goals to put the game away.

Nelson got the game-winner with an outstanding individual play, as a Greg Pankewicz penalty was expiring, after Ulanski collected the puck in the defensive zone and sent him down the right wing. The Eagles' veteran entered the Odessa zone, chipped the puck to the center of the ice and split two Jackalopes defensemen before beating Symington from just inside the left circle at 4:05. Then the two hooked up again at 12:54 as Ulanski went end-to-end down the left wing before snapping a shot past Odessa's goalie from the left circle for a short-handed tally and a hat trick.

The Eagles will take on the Wichita Thunder for the third and final time this season on Saturday night.

Saturday, January 17; Cey, Schneekloth Lead Eagles Past Thunder

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles improved to 29-6-1 with a tightly contested 2-1 win over the Wichita Thunder. The Northwest Division rivals met for the third and final time this season (with the Eagles going 2-1-0), and it was strong goaltending from Morgan Cey, a two-point night by Aaron Schneekloth (1-1-2) and a perfect penalty-killing unit -- nine for nine -- that helped the Eagles past the Thunder.

The two teams skated to a fairly uneventful first period -- just the second game at the Budweiser Events Center this season to go scoreless through the first 20 minutes of play -- with each failing to score on three power play chances. Cey stopped all 11 Wichita shots while his counterpart, Krister Toews, stopped all 13 Colorado chances.

The second period played out similar to the first, except for the Eagles getting on the board with a power-play goal just 41 seconds in when Schneekloth scored on a shot from the right point. Colorado stayed strong on the defensive end for the rest of the frame, highlighted by their killing of a full 5-on-3 Wichita power-play midway through. Cey continued his shutout with several key stops, including a stop on Joel Hanson's breakaway 11 minutes in and a left toe save with just seconds remaining in the period.

Jason Duda tied the game at 1, 6:32 into the third, with a spinning shot from below the left circle, and the game stayed knotted until 14:07 when Schneekloth had his hand in another Eagles goal. The Colorado defenseman stepped around his man at the right point and cut to the center of the ice where he shot from between the circles. Toews kicked the puck aside, but Konrad Reeder was right there to knock it in for the game-winner. Cey then withstood a mad flurry at the end with Wichita depositing the puck just after the final buzzer to earn his first win since Dec. 19 at New Mexico.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, January 21; Rocky Mountain Rivalry Renews

The Eagles travel down I-25 to the Broomfield Event Center for the second time this season; they defeated the Rage 5-1 on Oct. 22. This will be the fifth meeting overall, with the Eagles sitting at 4-0-0 overall. The last match-up ended in a shootout on Jan 10, as the Rage have been one of the hottest teams in the league of late.

Friday, January 23 & Saturday, January 24; Eagles Play a Pair Against 'Dogs

Colorado finishes their three-game road sting with their first games in Arizona this season. It will be their first trip to the Tim's Toyota Center since last year's President's Cup Finals. So far this season, the Eagles have won both meetings at the BEC by a score of 7-5. All-time in Prescott Valley, Colorado is just 2-5-1.

Notable Numbers

LEADING d-MAN - Defenseman Aaron Schneekloth had a pivotal role in Saturday's 2-1 win over Wichita - collecting the first goal and assisting on the game-winner - but he's been solid all season long. Schneekloth leads the league (by a wide margin) in plus/minus at +29 and is second among all d-men in points with 33 (11-22-33); he's second in goals, tied for fourth in helpers and tied for first in game-winning goals. His .124 shooting percentage is the highest for any blueliner with at least 10 scores.

PENNING HIS NAME - Goaltender Andrew Penner, who is quickly staking his claim to several franchise goaltending marks, is riding a nine-game winning streak - tied for the second-longest in franchise history - and already had a seven-game streak earlier this year (tied for fourth-longest). That gives him two of the five-longest winning streaks in team history. Penner (20-1-1) hasn't lost a game in regulation since Nov. 1, the Eagles' first loss of the season.

BALANCE IN THE CLUTCH - Of the Eagles' 29 wins on the season, they've received game-winning goals from nine different players. Moreover, the clutch scoring has been fairly evenly spread across their top two lines. Riley Nelson leads the team with five winners (tied for second in the league), and there's a four-man logjam at four (Greg Pankewicz, Kevin Ulanski, Konrad Reeder and Aaron Schneekloth).

TRICKED OUT - Kevin Ulanski's hat trick last Friday was the sixth for the Eagles just over halfway through this season; Greg Pankewicz has four and Aaron Schneekloth has the other. The previous Colorado high for three-goal games in a season is seven, registered in the 2006-07 season.

SHORTIES - Kevin Ulanski's hat trick-notching goal against Odessa came short-handed, his third such score of the season, and the team's ninth overall (tied for second-most in the CHL). Seven of Colorado's short-handed markers have come at home (a league high), and five of the nine have come from Ulanski (3) and Riley Nelson (2).

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics

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Central Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2009


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