ECHL Colorado Eagles

Red Hot Eagles Soar over Grizzlies, 10-1

Published on November 8, 2012 under ECHL (ECHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


LOVELAND, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles tied a team record for largest margin of victory with a 10-1 win over the Utah Grizzlies in their annual Military Appreciation Night game. It marked the third straight blowout for the Eagles, who defeated the San Francisco Bulls, 6-1 & 7-2 in a pair of games last weekend.

The equally hot Michael Forney -- the reigning ECHL Player of the Week -- opened the scoring just 36 seconds into the game, giving him a goal on each of his previous four shots. The goal was unassisted, coming when he picked off an errant pass in the offensive zone and dangled through the left circle before deftly depositing the disk behind Ryan Donovan.

The Eagles added three more power-play goals in the opening period -- going a perfect 3-for-3 -- to take a commanding lead into the first intermission. The first man-advantage marker came at 11:33 when Riley Nelson picked up his first goal of the season from the right slot.

The next two Colorado goals came in each portion of a 5-on-3 advantage. The first came at 16:54 when Kyle Jones pushed the puck up ice in transition, resulting in a chance for Jack Combs from between the circles. And exactly 30 seconds later, Joey Sides made it 4-0 from the doorstep. The Eagles ended the first frame with four goals on just eight shots.

Colorado piled on in the second session, adding three more goals to take a 7-0 lead into the third frame. Jones made some big stops to start the period, and it didn't take long for the offense to bolster his efforts. Nelson notched his second goal four and a half minutes in with a toe-drag into the slot before beating Donovan's glove hand.

And just over two minutes later, Nelson recorded the 6th regular season hat trick of his Colorado career. It marked the second game in a row that an Eagles player recorded a hat trick, each doing so on just three shots (all of Nelson's shots going high-glove side). Trent Daavettila made it 7-0 at 14:25 of the second stanza when his shot from the right circle deflected off a Utah defender and past the Grizzlies' goalie.

Colorado pushed their lead to 8-0 at 3:49 of the final frame when Ryan Schnell poked home a Ray Kaunisto rebound from the paint. At 6:10, Chris Donovan was harassing Joey Sides in the Eagles' offensive zone and when he turned up ice, Jason Beatty pounced on him in defense of his teammate. That expression of unity led to the Grizzlies' seventh power play of the night, which also led to them finally getting on the board when Kory Falite found the back of the net.

But that was all Utah would muster as the Eagles added another pair of goals in the final frame. The top line of Chad Costello, Forney & Combs combined for a beautiful, tic-tac-toe, power-play goal at 12:53. And just over a minute later, Arthur Bidwill accounted for the game's final goal when his shot from the right point deflected past the Utah netminder.

With the game's outcome easily decided, tempers flared late in the contest when Mitch Wahl cross-checked Costello (the league's reigning MVP) in the head in open ice away from the play. The late fireworks will likely add to more when the teams meet again Friday & Saturday night at the Budweiser Events Center.

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ECHL Stories from November 8, 2012


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