Sundogs Fall 7-5 to Colorado in Rematch of 2008 President's Cup Finals
October 24, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Arizona Sundogs News Release
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. -The Arizona Sundogs and Colorado Eagles battled one and other on Friday night at the Budweiser Events Center in the first meeting between the two clubs since Arizona swept Colorado in four-straight games during the Ray Miron President's Cup Finals last season. Despite outshooting Colorado 48-32 and converting on forty percent of their power play chances, the Sundogs trailed by as many as three goals throughout the night and fell to the Eagles 7-5.
Colorado used special teams to open a two goal lead in the first period Friday night as Ryan Tobler collected his fourth goal of the season while on the man advantage following a Karl Sellan holding penalty. Defenseman Aaron Schneekloth and former Scorpion Konrad Reeder assisted on the play to give their club an early 1-0 lead. While shorthanded, Colorado's Kevin Ulanski pushed his club's lead to 2-0 with his third goal of the year from Riley Nelson and Schneekloth. Arizona cut into Colorado's two-goal cushion with less than three minutes to play in the opening frame as Sellan tallied his third power play goal of the season, redirecting a Chris Bartolone shot from the point past Eagles netminder Morgan Cey. Martin Gascon also helped on the play for his team-leading fifth point of the 2008-09 campaign. Despite trailing 2-1, the visiting Sundogs held a 16-12 advantage in shots in the first period of play.
The Eagles needed less than three minutes in the middle period to open a three-goal lead as Nelson and Tobler both beat Sundogs goaltender Joel Gistedt for their second points of the night. Nelson pushed the score to 3-1 1:07 into the frame, one-timing a Ulanski pass over the glove of Gistedt. Scott Polaski was also credited with an assist in the early marker. Converting for his second power play tally of the game, Tobler pushed a Reeder centering pass across the goal line less than a minute-and-a-half later to give the Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 4-1. Polaski notched his second assist in a 76-second span. The Sundogs once again cut Colorado's lead in half with their second power play goal of the evening at the 8:49 mark as Joel Irving gathered his second goal of the year from defenseman Jon Landry. With the period coming to a close, Arizona looked to have pulled back to within one only to have Colorado regain a two-goal with just 11 seconds remaining in the period. The Sundogs' power play continued to produce as Bartolone notched his first goal of the year and second point of the night from Derek Legault and Gascon at 18:59 for the Sundogs' third goal on seven chances with the man advantage. Veteran forward Greg Pankewicz pushed the Eagles' lead to 5-3 50 seconds later, sliding a puck under Gistedt for his third goal of the year. Nelson and Ulanski assisted on the late-period tally for their third points of the game. Arizona matched the first period shot total while holding the Eagles just eight shots for a two-period 32-20 advantage.
While on the man advantage following a Sean Zimmerman holding penalty, Colorado made it a 6-3 with 15:17 to play in the third period as Ulanksi sent a cross-ice pass to Pankewicz who sent a one-timer past Gistedt. Nelson also assisted on the power play goal as Ulanski and Nelson connected for their fourth points of the game. At the 12:21 mark, Arizona climbed back to within two as Bartolone calmly faked a shot from the point and gained the top of the far circle before finally sending a shot towards Cey. Cory Stillman settled the rebound and dropped a pass to line mate Irving who sent a shot past the Eagles goalie for his second of the game. With three minutes to play in regulation, the Sundogs used their fourth goal of the night with the man advantage to pull to within one as Jason Visser pushed a loose puck across the goal line for his first goal of the year. Stillman and Irving assisted on the play. Sundogs Head Coach and General Manager Marco Pietroniro pulled Gistedt in favor of an extra attacker with time winding down but the effort proved fruitless as Pankewicz capped off the hat trick with an empty net goal from Nelson with 58 seconds to play.
Gistedt started his second game for Arizona and stopped 25 of 31 shots in the loss while Cey collected his second-straight win for Colorado, blocking 42 of 47 shots. The Sundogs power play improved over its first three games, finishing 4-for-10, but the penalty kill struggled allowing Colorado to convert on 3-of-6 opportunities with the man advantage.
Irving, Bartolone, Stillman and Gascon each had multiple-point outings for Arizona and combined for 10 points, while Reeder, Ulanski, Nelson, Tobler, Schneekloth, Polaski and Pankewicz collected multiple-point nights and combined for 20 points.
Arizona falls to 1-3-0 on the season and travels south to Broomfield to take on the Rocky Mountain Rage on Saturday night at the Broomfield Event Center. Game time is set for 6:05pm (Arizona time) and can be heard live on 96.7 FM The Wolf, the Official Broadcast Home of the Arizona Sundogs.
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