CHL Colorado Eagles

Eagles Week In Review

Published on April 27, 2009 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


WINDSOR, Colo. - The Bud Poile Governors' Cup champion Colorado Eagles announced today that Game 6 of the Northern Conference Finals against the Mississippi RiverKings (if necessary), scheduled to be played on Sunday, April 26, will be televised by Altitude Sports & Entertainment. The No.1-seeded Eagles currently lead the series two games to none. Puck-drop for a televised Game 6 would occur at 7:10 p.m, with the broadcast beginning at 7.

The Voice of the Eagles, Tori Holt, will handle the game's play-by-play duties, while Kevin McGlue and Lauren Gardner will do color commentary and ice-side reporting respectively.

The rest of the Northern Conference Finals series between the Northwest Division champion Eagles and the Northeast Division champion RiverKings is as follows:

Game 3 (Tuesday, April 21)

Game 4 (Thursday, April 23)

Game 5* (Friday, April 24)

Game 6* (Sunday, April 26)

Game 7* (Monday, April 27)

* - If Necessary

Tickets for all possible home games are on sale now and can be purchased at the Budweiser Events Center box office, www.ComcastTix.com, 1-877-544-TIXX (8499), the Eagles Office in Water Valley or through any ComcastTIX Outlet. Tickets for the Northern Conference Finals cost $19 (plus applicable fees).

About Altitude Sports & Entertainment

Seen in more than 3 million homes in a 10 state territory, Altitude is the television home of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Eagles, the Big Sky Conference, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, ESPN Syndication (including Big 12 Conference and Western Athletic Conference events), as well as other local and regional sports, entertainment and public service programming. A full list of Altitude programming and other information can be found at www.altitude.tv.

Tuesday, April 21; Penner Stops 47 of 48, Eagles Now 7-0

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - The Colorado Eagles defeated the Mississippi RiverKings, 2-1, to take a 3-0 series lead in the Northern Conference Finals of the Ray Miron President's Cup playoffs. Andrew Penner stopped 47 of 48 shots -- the second-most saves in franchise playoff history -- and the Eagles' penalty killers went 8-8 (improving to 25-26 in the series) to help claim the victory.

The Eagles played what was arguably their best first period of the series in taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Penner continued to play strong between the pipes for Colorado as he stopped all 12 Mississippi shots in the opening frame. And at 16:15, it was the unheralded third line that got the game's first goal when Adam Hogg -- facing the end boards -- sent a no-look, backhand feed from below the goal line to Steve Haddon on the doorstep, where he beat Kevin Beech for the line's first goal of the playoffs.

Colorado took a 2-0 lead at 13:57 of the second period with a power-play goal from Ed McGrane following a tripping penalty on Stephen Margeson that took out the knee of Ryan Tobler and left him down on the ice for several minutes; Justin DaCosta, a recently-signed amateur standing up for the shaken veteran, then traded blows with Garrett Larson away from the play.

McGrane's goal extended his point streak to 27 games and came after Riley Nelson fed him from high in the right circle for a blast from the point. Mississippi countered that score with their only goal of the game at 15:11 when Joe Markusen's shot from the right boards made its way through a maze of moving bodies and slipped past Penner. Markusen did more damage later in the period when his hit took out Hogg's knee, sending the second Eagles player in the period off the ice.

After being outshot 20-6 in the second period, the Eagles and Penner withstood another 16 shots in the third -- including the final two minutes with an extra attacker for the RiverKings -- to hold on for the win and a commanding three games to none lead in the series; no team in CHL history has ever come back from such a deficit.

Thursday, April 23; Filipic Placed on IR, Amateur Tresierra Signed

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - The Governors' Cup champion Colorado Eagles announced today that forward Fraser Filipic has been placed on season-ending IR, and that they've signed amateur defenseman/forward Jessie Tresierra (tres-ERA). The sixth-year Eagle was injured in Game 1 of the Northern Conference Finals against the Mississippi RiverKings. Colorado will look to sweep that series tonight and advance to their fourth President's Cup Finals in six years.

It has been a tough year for Filipic on the injury front, as he missed the first half of the regular season while recovering from another major injury. After joining the lineup on December, 30, Filipic registered seven points (1-6-7) and 112 penalty minutes in 30 games played.

Through five playoff games, he registered one point and eight PIMs. His lone point came in the form of an overtime, game-winning goal in Game 3 of the Northern Conference Semifinals against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.

Filipic, noted as one of the CHL's toughest fighters, has played 276 career games (four below the veteran limit) for the Eagles, joining the team in its inaugural season of 2003-04. In that time he's tallied 110 points (40-70-110) and owns the franchise record for penalty minutes with 1,184.

"Unfortunately, we've lost Fraser for the remainder of this season on the ice, but we won't lose his leadership in the locker room," said Eagles President and General Manager Chris Stewart. "He will continue to travel with the team and provide the same personality and leadership off the ice that's helped us get where we are this season."

"Jessie is a young kid that we've brought in to add depth just like Justin DaCosta who was signed earlier this round and has performed very well. Jessie's certainly got a physical presence and should have no problem helping fill that void from the loss of Fraser. He's been working with the team for a while now, learning the system, and should be able to step right into the lineup."

Tresierra (6-foot-2-inches, 240-pounds) played the past three seasons for the Langley Chiefs of the BCHL, posting 88 points (19-69-88) and 415 penalty minutes in 167 games.

This past season, he tallied 11 goals, 35 assists and 110 PIMs in 66 games. He also acted as team captain and was awarded the team's Orland Kurtenbach award as Top Defenseman. Tresierra was also named the Chief's Most Improved Player in 2006-07. He will wear #8 for the Eagles.

Thursday, April 23; Eagles Lose First Game of Playoffs in 2OT

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - The Colorado Eagles lost their first game of the 2009 CHL playoffs, 6-5, in double overtime of the Northern Conference Finals' Game 4. The Mississippi RiverKings overcame a 4-0 first period deficit to keep their season alive and force a Game 5 Friday night at the DeSoto Civic Center.

The Eagles and RiverKings played the most even first period of the series as Mississippi outshot Colorado 15-11, but in a 3-0 series deficit, seemed to be playing more cautious than careless. In turn, the Eagles took advantage of some solid early saves by Andrew Penner to jump all over the hesitant RiverKings, chasing Kevin Beech with four goals in under 17 minutes.

Greg Pankewicz got the scoring spree started at 5:25 when the puck ended up in his skates at his own blue line and he headed the other way with Konrad Reeder on a 2-on-1 break. The Eagles' captain then beat Beech with a shot from inside the left circle that went off the goaltender's left arm. Then, just 11 seconds later, Riley Nelson took a feed entering the offensive zone and scored on a shot from a similar spot, putting the puck past Beech's glove.

Pankewicz and Reeder connected again at 15:37 when the veteran forward chipped a pass from the neutral zone to send the speedy winger in all alone. Reeder skated down on the RiverKings netminder as if on a penalty shot attempt and used his patented shootout move to make it 3-0. And just over a minute after that, Adam Hogg sent Brett Hammond through the neutral zone and across the blue line one-on-one with a Mississippi defender before Hammond deftly stopped at the right faceoff circle and sent a shot past Beech from between the circles.

After allowing four goals on 11 shots, the league's Most Outstanding Goaltender was chased from the RiverKings' cage and replaced by Tyler Sims -- seeing his first action of the playoffs. The switch helped to change the period's -- and the game's -- momentum as Mississippi got on the board at 18:44. Jeff Nelson sent a backhand pass from below the goal line to Matt Summers who skated across the slot from right to left and sent a shot past Penner.

The RiverKings cut Colorado's lead to two heading into the third period by outscoring the Eagles 2-1 in the second. Mississippi got their second goal of the game -- and just their second power-play tally of the series -- at 8:42 when Stephen Margeson scored from low in the left circle. But Ed McGrane answered that goal with one of his own at 11:04, stretching his point streak to an astonishing 28 games. The Eagles forward danced into the offensive zone and down the slot before beating Sims from the left circle. Then, with under a minute left in the second frame, Martin Gascon made it 5-3 by converting a mini 2-on-1 rush with Bobby Chaumont.

Mississippi's desperation continued to show in the third as they battled back to tie the game at five and extend their season into overtime. The RiverKings made it a one-goal game with their second power-play marker of the game at 4:18 when Jeff Alcombrack's shot from the right point seemed to change directions in front of the net and got past Penner. And at 15:09 -- again on the man advantage -- Andrew Lackner found the back of the net with a big point shot off a feed from Louis Dumont in the left circle.

Neither team held back in a first overtime period filled with back-and-forth action. Both teams had several good chances and each rang at least one shot off the goalposts. But Penner saved all 16 RiverKings shots and Sims stopped all 11 from the Eagles to push the game into a second overtime period.

The RiverKings got all three of the shots in the second overtime frame before Summers put the third one by the Eagles' netminder at 3:46. Summers took a feed from Nelson behind the net and knocked the puck in from the left side of the crease to keep Mississippi's season alive and hand Colorado their first loss of the playoffs.

Friday, April 24; Sims, Power Play Help Mississippi to Win

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - The Colorado Eagles dropped Game 5 to the Mississippi RiverKings in the Northern Conference Finals by a misleading score of 6-2 aided heavily by four power-play goals for the RiverKings. Tyler Sims, making his first start of the playoffs after stopping 34 of 35 in relief of Kevin Beech in Game 4, stopped 28 of 30 in the win. Game 6 will be played on Sunday night at the Budweiser Events Center.

Mississippi continued to outshoot the Eagles in the first period as they have all series long, racking up a 14-6 edge in the first 20 minutes of play. Their power play success from Game 4 also carried over into the first period of this game as they opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 8:53 when Matt Summers sent a quick pass from the left side of the crease to Stephen Margeson in the left circle for a shot past Andrew Penner.

The Eagles quickly countered, however, when Riley Nelson got his third goal of the series by converting an odd-man rush with Kevin Ulanski a minute and a half later. Ulanski carried the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive end before sending a cross-slot feed to the veteran center. But the RiverKings struck on their own odd-man rush at 17:19 to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission when Darrell Stoddard snapped a shot past Penner from the left faceoff dot on a delayed penalty call.

Bobby Chaumont made it 3-1 at 13:41 after a turnover in the Eagles' zone ended up on the stick of Louis Dumont. Dumont left a drop pass for the CHL All-Star in the right circle and he was able to beat the Eagles netminder with Garrett Larson skating in front of the crease. Colorado outshot the RiverKings in the second period with the help of a minute and a half's worth of 5-on-3 play toward the end of the frame, but Sims was strong in net to keep the Eagles at bay.

Andrew Lackner scored the RiverKings' second power-play goal of the game 3:03 into the third off a backdoor play from Summers. But the Eagles' third line -- hot in recent games -- cut the lead in half at 8:43 when Steve Haddon took an Adam Hogg pass and beat Sims from the top of the left circle as Jay Birnie crashed the crease.

However, Mississippi, continuing to get the lion's share of man advantage chances like they have all series long, would add another pair of power-play goals -- matching an Eagles record of four power-play goals allowed in a playoff game -- in the next 10 minutes to account for the final score. Martin Gascon scored the first off a beautiful, behind-the-back pass from Stoddard, and the second was credited to Lackner even though it appeared Penner had the puck frozen in plenty of time.

Before the final whistle blew, the tension between the two teams boiled over into a multitude of scuffles and fights and the bad blood will likely continue when they meet in Game 6 in Loveland on Sunday night.

Sunday, April 26; Eagles Advance to Fourth President's Cup Finals!

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Bud Poile Governors' Cup champion Colorado Eagles defeated the Mississippi RiverKings in Game 6 of the Northern Conference Finals, 5-2, to advance to their fourth Ray Miron President's Cup championship series in six seasons of existence -- and their third in a row. The two-time Central Hockey League champs won the President's Cup in 2005 and 2007.

The two evenly matched teams played that way in the first period as both carried an equal amount of the play. Mississippi had a slight edge in shots (14-10) and power play chances (3-2), but the two squads were unable to get on the scoreboard and took a 0-0 tie into the first intermission.

The RiverKings struck first in the second period when former Eagle Garrett Larson sent a beautiful, long lead pass to Louis Dumont entering the Eagles' zone all alone along the left wing. Dumont waited for Bobby Chaumont to join him for a two-on-one break before feeding him for a goal from the right circle at 4:10.

Colorado tied the game at one with a power-play goal at 9:43 when Ed McGrane -- who had a 28-game point streak snapped in the previous contest -- sent a pass diagonally from the top of the right circle to Aaron Schneekloth camped out to the left of the crease. The league's Most Outstanding Defenseman made a quick move to his backhand and lifted the puck past Tyler Sims to even the score heading into the second intermission.

The Eagles blew the game open in the third period with four goals -- tying a team record for goals in a playoff period -- with Brett Hammond's second goal of the series opening the floodgates. At 5:53, after a faceoff in the right circle of the offensive zone, Hammond threw the puck on net from the goal line and it deflected past the Mississippi netminder.

Then, just 27 seconds later, Konrad Reeder had a beautiful set-up on Greg Pankewicz's game-winning goal. Reeder took the puck at center ice, faked a shot just inside the blue line to freeze the RiverKings' defenders, stickhandled down the slot and then slid a pass back to the Eagles' captain who buried the puck into an essentially empty net.

Jeff Nelson trimmed the Eagles' lead to 3-2 at 14:44 by backhanding a Derek Landmesser rebound past Andrew Penner from the low slot, but that was as close as the RiverKings would get. Colorado answered right back at 15:29 as Jay Birnie skated down the right wing, fought a defender off with one arm and slid a pass up the slot with his other to Adam Hogg for an insurance score. Kevin Ulanski added an empty-net, power-play goal to account for the final margin of victory.

Sunday, April 26; Eagles to Face Brahmas in 2009 CHL Finals

LOVELAND, Colo. - The Governors' Cup champion Colorado Eagles have advanced to the Ray Miron President's Cup Finals for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in six seasons of existence. The Eagles also made it to the Central Hockey League's championship round in 2005, 2007 and 2008, winning in the first two. Colorado will face the Southern Conference champion Texas Brahmas with Games 1 and 2 at the Budweiser Events Center on Wednesday, April 29 and Friday, May 1.

As the regular season champs, the Eagles will own home ice advantage in the President's Cup Finals. The rest of the best-of-seven series schedule will be announced within 24-48 hours.

Tickets for Games 1 and 2 will go on sale Monday, April 27 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at the Budweiser Events Center box office, www.ComcastTix.com, 1-877-544-TIXX (8499), the Eagles Office in Water Valley or through any ComcastTIX Outlet. Tickets for the President's Cup Finals round will cost $20 (plus applicable fees).

* SEASON TICKET HOLDERS *

Tickets for all possible home playoff games are in the back of your Season Ticket Books.

Please use the CREAM TICKETS ("Round Four") designated for the President's Cup Finals; Games "A," "B," "C" and "D" coincide with the four possible home games in the best-of-seven series.

If you have any questions about your playoff tickets, please call our office at (970)686-SHOT.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, April 29 & Friday, May 1; Games 1 & 2 of the President's Cup Finals

The Eagles will look to capitalize on the home ice advantage they earned in winning their third Governors' Cup when the Ray Miron President's Cup Finals commence on Wednesday, April 29. Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven series against the Southern Conference champion Texas Brahmas are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday, April 1 respectively. The Eagles and Brahmas have met one prior time in the playoffs, with the Eagles winning the Northern Conference Finals in seven games last year.

Notable Numbers

HERE'S AN ODD STAT - If history repeats itself, the Eagles will be this year's President's Cup champions. Of the three previous times Colorado has made it to the final round of the CHL playoffs, they've won the series in odd numbered years (2005 & 2007). That every-other-year pattern would fall in the Eagles' favor again this year.

LAST TIME... - The Eagles and Brahmas have met one prior time in the playoffs -- in last year's Northern Conference Finals. Colorado won that series in seven games to advance to their second straight President's Cup series as they looked to become back-to-back champs. The Eagles won Games 1, 2, 4 & 7 of the 2-3-2 format with four of the games being decided by just one goal (one in overtime). Game 6 included a bench-clearing brawl that led to Greg Pankewicz and Jay Birnie getting suspended.

GREAT SCOTT - Eagles defenseman Scott Polaski -- then playing as a forward -- led Colorado in last year's playoff meeting with Texas. In the seven games, the Colorado Springs, Colo. native had seven points, four goals (including two game-winners) a .211 shooting percentage and a +6 plus/minus rating -- all team highs. He has five points (2-3-5) in seven career regular season games against the Brahmas franchise.

FEELING SPECIAL AT HOME - The Eagles special teams inside the Budweiser Events Center have been incredibly efficient. Their power play is converting on 39.1% of its chances (9-23) and their penalty killing is stopping 96.9% of opposing chances (31-32), having allowed just a single power-play goal on home ice throughout the playoffs.

WIN (GAME) 1 FOR THE TEAM - When the Eagles win the first game of a series, they're 9-1 all-time in that series; they're 10-5 in Game 1's.

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics

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Central Hockey League Stories from April 27, 2009


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