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CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Week In Review

February 16, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


Week In Review

Wednesday, February 11; You're Invited: The Ultimate Eagles Wedding

The Colorado Eagles would like to cordially invite you to the Ultimate Eagles Wedding of Michael Melvin Horst and Shannon Lee Twing! The lovely couple will be wed during the first intermission of the Colorado Eagles game against the Mississippi RiverKings in front of 5,289 of their fellow Eagles fans.

When: Saturday, February 14, 2009 (Valentine's Day)

Where: The Budweiser Events Center

About the Couple: Michael and Shannon met in 1995 while he was a freshman and she was a junior at Platte Valley High School. After graduating, Shannon joined the Navy, while Michael joined the local fire department where he served as captain for six years.

In 2003, Shannon received an honorable discharge from the Navy and stayed on the East coast until 2007 when she decided to return to Colorado. On August 18, 2007, Michael and Shannon's paths crossed once again through a mutual friend and they have been together ever since.

After a year of dating, Michael took Shannon -- along with her family -- to a local dive shop to share his passion for scuba diving. It was at the bottom of the pool where he presented a white board to Shannon with the words "Will You Marry Me?" inscribed on it. Without hesitation, she nodded yes!

Wednesday, February 11; Eagles Power Their Way Into Playoffs

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles clinched a playoff berth with their 5-3 win over the defending President's Cup champion Arizona Sundogs. All five Eagles goals came on the power play, as both Steve Haddon and Ryan Tobler tallied twice on the man-advantage. Colorado's penalty killers excelled as well, stopping five of six Sundogs chances, including a five minute major that included a full 5-on-3 chance in the third.

The first period was played close to the vest as neither team managed to reach double-digits in shots, and the Eagles did not register their first of nine until five minutes had passed. Arizona got the period's lone power play opportunity midway through but failed to convert, and the score stayed deadlocked until the period's final minute. With 51.9 seconds left in the first, Rob Lehtinen sent the puck into the crease from behind the Eagles' net where Dwayne Hay whiffed but Chris Bartolone was able to chip it over Morgan Cey, marking his fourth game in a row with a goal.

Things opened up in the second as Colorado went three-for-four on the man-advantage to counter two more Arizona goals and knot the score up at three heading into the third period. Haddon tied the game at 1 just 68 seconds in, getting his first of two power-play goals in the period. After an Ed McGrane point shot got knocked down in front, Konrad Reeder found Haddon in the low slot for the score.

The Sundogs answered just 46 seconds later, however, when Lehtinen snapped a shot past Cey from the left faceoff dot. But Haddon, Reeder and McGrane struck again with another man-advantage goal at 7:45 when Haddon deflected McGrane's point shot from in front.

Arizona regained the lead five minutes later when Jon Landry took the puck on his backhand from the left circle to the slot before beating the Eagles' netminder just after a 5-on-3 advantage had turned into a 5-on-4. Then at 17:53, McGrane beat Marco Emond from inside the right circle after a faceoff win, just four seconds into Colorado's second power play in a row.

The Eagles were awarded an almost-full 5-on-3 at the start of the final frame and Tobler deflected an Aaron Schneekloth shot from the top of the circles at 1:57 to take advantage. Things got interesting as the first half of the third period ended, when Colorado was forced to kill a five minute major penalty to Greg Pankewicz, plus a full 5-on-3 when Jason Beatty was called for a slash.

With Arizona unable to convert, the Eagles rode the momentum the rest of the way. The Sundogs nearly tied the game at 4 with just 13.7 seconds left when Cey was handcuffed by a shot from the left wing and the puck crossed the goal line after a mad scramble in front, but the score was waived off on a delayed penalty against Jason Lawmaster. Tobler then added his second power-play goal of the period with just 1.7 seconds left when he beat Emond with a shot into the top right corner from the right circle.

The Eagles will take on the Mississippi RiverKings in a set of back-to-back games Friday and Saturday at the Budweiser Events Center.

Friday, February 13; Ladies Night - Hockey 201 Is Coming!

Ladies,

Ladies Night - Hockey 201 is scheduled for Monday, March 9 at the Budweiser Events Center, doors will open at 6 p.m. The fun-filled night with your Colorado Eagles players will include a more in-depth look at the game of hockey, at the home of your Eagles!

Tickets -- $45 per person -- go on sale Monday, February 16 at 10 a.m., and can be purchased by calling (970) 674-1743. Space is limited, so be sure to get your tickets before they sell out!

Friday, February 13; Beech, 'Kings Top Eagles

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Mississippi RiverKings defeated the Colorado Eagles 5-2 in a game that played out like a horror film for the Northwest Division-leading Eagles on Friday the 13th. Despite a 36-30 edge in shots, Colorado was arguably out-played for most of the game in just their fourth home loss of the season. Mississippi netminder Kevin Beech stopped 34 of 36 shots and two RiverKings (Martin Gascon and Louis Dumont) recorded multi-point games in the win.

The first period was filled with back-and-forth hockey as the only real sustained pressure for either team came during power plays (even though both teams went 0-2). The Eagles got on the scoreboard first, at 6:07, after Riley Nelson and Kevin Ulanski controlled the puck along the right wing boards after entering the Mississippi zone. Ulanski then sent a pass to the point where Scott Polaski one-timed it inside the left post. But the RiverKings answered just 56 seconds later when Adam Smyth's shot from low along the right boards snuck past Andrew Penner.

Despite matching the RiverKings with 14 shots in the second period, the Eagles were thoroughly out-played in the second 20 minutes of play. Mississippi added a pair of goals to take a 3-1 lead into the third period, scoring the first on a pretty play at 1:27 when Gascon sent a pass from above the left circle to Dumont crashing the back door. Then at 8:51, a bad bounce inside the Eagles' end kept the puck in the RiverKings' control and Darrell Stoddard found Dallas Steward to the left of the crease to make it 3-1.

Mississippi added two more quick goals in the third before the Eagles got a late goal to account for the final score. Dumont and Gascon connected again at 6:39 on a quick rush into the offensive zone when Dumont's pass from the right circle found Gascon -- who had gotten behind the Eagles' defense -- crashing the back door. And just 32 seconds later, Dane Marshall's shot from the left point found its way through a maze of bodies and into the back of the net. Aaron Schneekloth got a late power-play goal for Colorado at 17:38 with a shot from the left circle to close out the scoring.

The two teams will meet again Saturday night as the Eagles look for some instant redemption and try to avoid losing back-to-back games for just the second time this season.

Saturday, February 14; Colorado Comeback Comes Up Short

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles fell to the Mississippi RiverKings for the second night in a row, this time 5-3. The defeat marked the first time the Eagles have incurred back-to-back losses to the same opponent at the Budweiser Events Center since the final games of the 2005-06 regular season (both 4-1 losses to the Wichita Thunder).

Colorado came out with more jump than Friday night, but their results were no better. The Eagles were awarded two power plays in the first half of the period, and despite good pressure on both, were unable to find the back of the net. From then on, the period swung in Mississippi's favor.

At 9:10 of the first, the RiverKings struck for the first of three goals in a row when Louis Dumont found Garret Larson on a backdoor score. Then just 19 seconds later -- after a turnover at the left point -- Dallas Costanzo picked up the puck and walked into the left circle before feeding Adam Smyth for his second goal in as many games. The 'Kings third goal came at 12:15 while on the man advantage when Joe Markusen beat Andrew Penner from inside the left circle.

The Eagles got on the board at 5:03 of the second when Steve Haddon took the puck down the left wing and sent a cross-ice pass to Adam Hogg crashing the right side of the net. But the RiverKings countered at 13:10 -- off another turnover -- after Aaron Schneekloth lost the puck entering the offensive zone, springing a 3-on-1 rush the other way. Matt Summers took the puck down the ice before feeding Smyth for his second goal of the game. Mississippi locked the period down defensively from then on, being out-shot 16-7 in the period, but keept any high-percentage scoring chances to a minimum.

Colorado dominated the third period in an attempt to come back from their three-goal deficit, but came up just short. The ice was so tilted in the Eagles' favor that almost the entire first 10 and a half minutes were spent in Mississippi's zone with the 'Kings getting out-shot 9-0.

Ed McGrane started chipping away at Mississippi's lead at 8:19, when the Eagles caught the RiverKings on a line change, by blasting a laser shot past Kevin Beech from the top of the left circle. And at 16:33, Hogg and Haddon combined for another goal to make it a one score game when Hogg threw the puck on net from the left corner and Haddon jammed it home after it had slipped under the Mississippi goaltender's feet. But with Penner pulled, Stephen Margeson threw the puck into an empty net with under a minute left to seal the 'Kings' sweep.

The Eagles will head on the road for a game Tuesday night against the Rapid City Rush before coming back home for a weekend set against the Rocky Mountain Rage on Feb. 20 and 21.

Saturday, February 14; Free Golf At Pelican Lakes With WV T-Shirt

Eagles Fans,

Water Valley has a great promotion for all Eagles fans who attended Saturday night's game against the Mississippi RiverKings. Any fan who brings their commemorative Water Valley Valentine's Day t-shirt to the Water Valley Welcome Center between now and Memorial Day will receive a free round of golf at the beautiful Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club in Windsor.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, February 17; Eagles, Rush Renew Acquaintances

After meeting eight times in the first half of the season, the Eagles and Rush will get at it again when they clash for the first of four meetings in the final month of the year. This will be the first time the teams have played each other since a 3-1 Eagles win on January 7 in Rapid City. Colorado leads the season series 7-1-0, with three of those wins coming via shootouts.

Friday, February 20 & Saturday, February 21; Battle For Division Title This Weekend

No matter what happens on Tuesday, a weekend sweep of the Eagles' Front Range rivals would give them their sixth consecutive Northwest Division title. So far this season, the Eagles are a perfect 5-0 against the Rage, with another six meetings to go in the next five weeks. Colorado has already locked up a playoff berth and owns an 18 point lead in the division (74-56) heading into the week.

Notable Numbers

RARE OCCURANCES - Mississippi's weekend sweep of the Eagles handed them just their second losing streak of the season, but Colorado has yet to lose more than two in a row all year. More impressively, the back-to-back home losses to the same opponent were the first for the Eagles since the final games of the 2005-06 season, when they dropped a pair of 4-1 contests to Wichita.

SHELL-SHOCKED - The RiverKings are the only franchise the Eagles have an all-time losing record against, now at 8-10-1. Colorado was 7-6-0 against the Memphis RiverKings, but are just 1-4-1 against the Mississippi version. The only other team the Eagles have a losing record against is the Texas Brahmas (1-2-0), but against the Fort Worth/Texas franchise all-time, Colorado is 10-3-0.

MORE THAN TWO TO TANGO - When the Eagles score at least three goals this season, they're a combined 33-4-1. When scoring two or fewer, their record drops to 3-6-1. Of those 33 wins, 45 percent have come when the Eagles have scored at least six goals, when they are a perfect 15-0-0.

GOOD THING IT'S A SHORT MONTH - So far in February, the Eagles have a record of just 2-4-0, giving them more losses already than in any other month this season. Last year, Colorado suffered more losses in February than any other month as well, going 8-6-0. And the trend continued in 2006-07, with six losses and a 7-6-0 record in the year's second month.

BATTLING IT OUT - Defensemen Aaron Schneekloth and Scott Polaski are tied for sixth place on the team's all-time scoring list with 148 points each. Schneekloth accumulated his 148 points (47-101-148) in just 153 games as an Eagle, while it took Polaski - a forward until this season - 218 games to reach the same number of points (57-91-148).

TWO AWAY FROM TWO-HUNDRED - Captain Greg Pankewicz is just two goals away from 200 in his Eagles career; he would be the first player in franchise history to reach that milestone. Riley Nelson - the team's leading scorer all-time - has 191 career goals as an Eagle despite playing a full season's worth of games (65) more (354:289).

SEARCHING FOR POSITIVES - Defenseman Aaron Schneekloth has been leading the league - by far - in plus/minus rating all season and still has a pretty comfortable lead (+8) over Kevin Ulanski in second place. Remarkably, Schneekloth hasn't posted a positive plus/minus in the past six games (even though he has four points in the past four), his longest such stretch of the season.

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