CHL Colorado Eagles

First Period Burst Leads Eagles Past Scorps

January 30, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles defeated the New Mexico Scorpions 6-2 with the continuation of balanced scoring and a pair of short-handed goals. Colorado used a three-goal first period to jump on top and never looked back as their penalty-killers went 10-11 and out-scored the Scorpions on their own man-advantages.

The Eagles dominated play in the first period -- continuing a trend of poor opening frames for the Scorpions -- by throwing 21 shots at Ryan Gibb and scoring on three of them. Adam Hogg got the scoring started when he beat the Scorpions' goaltender at 4:29 with a shot from the left point just two feet inside the blue line. The goal gave him 11 on the year, surpassing his 10 as a rookie in Corpus Christi last season.

Greg Pankewicz made it 2-0 at 7:21 after scoring from the slot off a faceoff win in the left circle, and Scott Polaski made it 3-0 with another long shot at 13:38. The defenseman's floater from the right point was deflected in front before finding the back of the New Mexico net.

Colorado killed over a minute's worth of a Scorpions' 5-on-3 power play in the first part of the middle period, and after failing to convert, Gibb was mysteriously replaced by Kyle McNulty in net -- possibly to provide a spark for the 'Scorps. If that was the intended purpose, it worked as former-Eagle Seth Leonard snapped a shot past Andrew Penner from the right faceoff dot at 6:37. Lyon Messier picked up the primary assist on the play with his famous father, Mark, in attendance.

The Eagles got the goal back 60 seconds later with their league-leading eighth short-handed score at home. The play developed as Kevin Ulanski took the puck down the right wing and sent a pass to Riley Nelson on the opposite wing while Aaron Schneekloth drove the net to open up the ice. The defenseman then tapped in Nelson's feed on his second try from the right side of the crease.

Nelson and Ulanski teamed up again 5:05 into the final frame with the two teams skating 4-on-4 when the veteran forward found the team's leading scorer cutting to the net from the right wing boards and Ulanski beat McNulty low from in front. Ed McGrane made it 6-1 about two and a half minutes later when he beat the Scorpions' goalie with a top-shelf breakaway score; the short-handed tally was Colorado's twelfth on the year, tying the Texas Brahmas for most in the league.

Craig Macdonald scored the Scorps' second goal at 9:23 on the man-advantage to account for the final margin, and both teams traded unsuccessful 5-on-3's later in the period. The two clubs will meet again Saturday night in the final game of their weekend series.

Check out the Colorado Eagles Statistics



Central Hockey League Stories from January 30, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central