Rage Hat Trick Not Enough

October 31, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rocky Mountain Rage News Release


Broomfield, Colo. - Rocky Mountain Rage right winger Nathan Rosychuk scored a hat trick tonight at the Broomfield Event Center to give the Rage a 3-0 lead. But not even Rosychuk could stop the Colorado Eagles from a third period rally that would defeat the Rage 4-3 in overtime.

The Rocky Mountain Rage earned one point in the OT loss and improved to 4-0-1 (9 points) to maintain the top spot in the Northwest Division. The Colorado Eagles improved to 3-1-1 (7 points), for second place in the Northwest Division.

The Rage and Eagles will rematch this Friday at the Broomfield Event Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Single-game tickets are still on sale and range in price from $18-$43 per seat (parking included), and may be purchased through Ticketmaster. Log-on to www.Ticketmaster.com, call (303) 830-TIXS, or visit any Ticketmaster retail outlet.

The Eagles started early in the first period with a pair of overlapping minor penalties. Despite a slew of shots taken by the Rage during the power-play, the Eagles defensemen blocked in front of Eagles goaltender Clayton Pool to keep the Rage scoreless.

Play picked up speed when Colorado's Dave Iannazzo fired a slapshot eight minutes in, but was denied by the goal post. Tyler Butler and Scott Wray picked it up skating in the other direction. Nathan Rosychuk took the pass along the right-wing boards, skated in all alone and wristed the puck in net from the stick side of Eagles goaltender Clayton Pool. It marked a four-game goal streak for Rosychuk and a team-leading 11th point for Wray.

End-to-end play continued with few turnovers at center ice following the goal. At 15:42, the Rage was called for their first penalty of the game and faced the top power-play unit in the Central Hockey League (33.3 percent) before the period was out. But the Rage killed off the Eagles power-play and maintained the lead going into intermission.

The Rage started the second period taking a 2-0 lead just 28 seconds in when Rosychuk scored his second goal of the game.

Just under six minutes later, Nick Harloff made a shot on goal from the point. Rosychuk picked up the rebound and wristed it just barely past the goal line at 6:05 before bouncing out, scoring a natural hat trick. Wray assisted on the play once again. He is tied for second in the CHL in scoring with 12 points on four goals and eight assists in just five games.

The Eagles got on the scoreboard in the middle of the second period when last season's Eagles team leader Reiley Nelson wristed the puck in top shelf over the left shoulder of Rage goaltender Terry Dunbar. Nelson was the league's fourth leading scorer during the 2006-07 season. (41-47-88).

The Eagles took momentum through the remainder of the second period outshooting the Rage 11-4 to the 13:05 mark. Rocky Mountain was called for holding at 13:05 for their second penalty of the game. This time, the Rage could not hold off Colorado's power-play unit. Eagles right winger Greg Pankewicz cut Rocky Mountain's lead to one goal at 13:55 tucking the puck under the left pad of Dunbar.

Colorado's Nelson tied the game in the third period at 7:54 off a cross-ice pass from Pankewicz in front of Rocky Mountain goaltender Dunbar forcing overtime. The Eagles outshot the Rage 15-8 in the third period.

Pankewicz scored his second goal of the night and game-wining overtime goal for the Eagles at the 1:12 mark. Nelson assisted on the play.

Season tickets, mini-packs, and group plans are also available for the 2007-08 season by calling 303-439-RAGE. For more information, visit www.RockyMountainRage.com.



Central Hockey League Stories from October 31, 2007


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