Enga Hat Trick Keys Fourth Straight Win To Close Regular Season
April 7, 2002 - West Coast Hockey League (WCHL)
Colorado Gold Kings News Release
Colorado Springs, CO -R.J. Enga scored three goals and an assist and Xavier Majic added a pair of goals as Colorado posted its 10th straight win over Anchorage with an 8-2 rout Sunday night before a crowd of 3,579 at the Colorado Springs World Arena.
Enga beat Anchorage netminder Jamie McCaig glove side with a backhander to open the game's scoring at the 11:19 mark of the opening frame. The Aces evened the score at 1-1 on the man advantage, as Bobby Cunningham tucked one past Colorado goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck from just inside the crease.
Anchorage kept the game close until late in the second period, when the Gold Kings regained the lead on a Brent Henley one-timer slap shot at the 16:22 mark, assisted by Enga and Juraj Slovak and aided by a Chad Cabana screen in front. Majic stole a lazy pass from Anchorage defenseman Jami Yoder and beat McCaig on a rebound unassisted for a 3-1 Colorado with 1:13 left in the second frame.
Colorado blew the game open with five goals in the final 20 minutes of the regular season. Zac Boyer dropped a textbook centering pass for an Enga one-timer just 1:05 into the third period. With McCaig out of position, Cody Bowtell beat him glove side to push the lead to 5-1. Enga poked in his own rebound out of midair in a shorthanded situation to complete his hat trick and give him 95 points (48g-47a) for the season. The Aces got one back when J.J. Wrobel was credited with his fourth goal of the series after he banked a shot off Travis Thiessen's leg on the power play at 7:27.
Majic pushed his second goal of the night past McCaig stick side from the edge of the crease to build the Gold Kings' advantage to 7-2. Dwayne Blais polished off a give-and-go with Chad Cabana with 2:45 left in regulation. Colorado wraps up its regular season with four straight wins to finish at 39-26-7. The Gold Kings welcomed 136,345 through the gates of the World Arena during the 2001-02 campaign, an average of 3,787 fans per game and a new single season attendance record.
The Gold Kings will face the Tacoma Sabercats in the first round of the 2002 Taylor Cup playoffs Friday night, April 12th, when the puck is scheduled to drop at 8:35 p.m. MST at the Tacoma Dome. Jack Michaels calls the play-by-play for Colorado's games, all of which are broadcast live on KKCS-AM Hot Talk 1460.
West Coast Hockey League Stories from April 7, 2002
- Enga Hat Trick Keys Fourth Straight Win To Close Regular Season - Colorado Gold Kings
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