CHL Colorado Eagles

Schneekloth Gets HT for Early Christmas Present

December 23, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Colorado Eagles News Release


AMARILLO, Texas -- The Colorado Eagles capped off a 3-0 road trip with a dominating, 5-2 win over the Amarillo Gorillas. All-Star defenseman Aaron Schneekloth got his second hat trick as an Eagle, Ed McGrane added three assists and Andrew Penner stopped 21 of 23 shots -- including two penalty shots -- in the victory.

The Gorillas got on the board first with a Stuart MacRae goal at 16:12 off a faceoff win in the left circle of Colorado's zone. But the Eagles countered with a pair of power-play tallies before the first buzzer to take the lead into the locker room. Their first goal came at the 11 minute mark -- with just two seconds left on a 5-on-3 advantage -- when Schneekloth's drive from the top of the right circle beat Mike Gorman. Riley Nelson made it 2-1 with the Eagles' second man-advantage goal at 16:15 (his first power-play goal of the season to go along with 14 power-play assists) when he beat the Amarillo netminder from low in the right circle.

Amarillo again struck first in the second period when Jake Morissette tied the game at 2 just 2:52 in. Michael Handza sent Morissette in on a quick burst down the right wing into the offensive zone where he beat Penner from the faceoff dot. Penner, however, stopped the Gorillas momentum swing at 6:50 by denying MacRae on a penalty shot -- the first of two he would face in the period.

Then at 8:52, Penner assisted in swinging the momentum back in Colorado's favor -- literally -- when he picked up the second assist on Schneekloth's second power-play goal of the night. The play began when Penner sent a bank pass through the neutral zone to Greg Pankewicz along the left wing. The Eagles captain then took the puck to the top of the left circle and sent a cross-ice feed to Schneekloth at the top of the right circle for the tally.

Ryan Tobler made it 4-2 with a magnificent goal at 15:32 with the teams skating 4-on-4. Tobler fought his way to the middle of the ice to track down Erik Adams' lob pass from the neutral zone, backhanding it to himself, then pirouetting (all in one motion) to the doorstep where he again backhanded it past Gorman.

Then at 18:29 -- one shift after hitting the crossbar -- Schneekloth got his second hat trick as an Eagle by converting a 3-on-1 rush from between the circles. Both of his hat tricks have come against the Gorillas, and both are the only hat tricks for a defenseman in franchise history. And with time winding down in the frame, Penner stopped another penalty shot (this one from John Snowden) with just 14.5 seconds left.

Goaltender AJ Bucchino started the third period in net for the Gorillas and stopped all 17 Colorado shots in the final frame that saw his team send only four shots Penner's way. The Eagles finished their three game road trip a perfect 3-0 and will head home for a pair of games this weekend against the Laredo Bucks (Friday) and the New Mexico Scorpions (Saturday).

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 23, 2008


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