Eagles’ Even Strength Game Comes Through

The Colorado Eagles and the Abbotsford Canucks squared off in an AHL Pacific Division showdown that would help determine third place. In a game that saw the return of Jean-Luc Foudy, he injected a punch into the offense that the Eagles need. Colorado needed to make their even strength game work with a struggling special teams unit and failing to close out games. It was an exciting back and forth affair until late in the game, and then the Eagles wrapped it up. 

First Period

Alex Beaucage decided to get the scoring going for Colorado. He had not had a single point in his last eleven games played. Beaucage started by doing his own cycle up high, stopping at the half boards. He carried it quickly down below the net and changed direction, losing the Canucks defender. The winger tucked the puck and wrapped it around the left side post, just past goaltender Spencer Martin’s pad for a 1-0 lead.

No more than thirty seconds later, Charles Hudon had the puck in the Eagles zone. Hudon passed it to Foudy, who carried it over the blue line for the Eagles. Foudy slid it over to Wyatt Aamodt, who then snapped it in from the left circle to make it 2-0.

Second Period

A lost faceoff by Shane Bowers led to the first goal by Abbotsford. With about five minutes left in the second, Bowers would square up against Kyle Rau and lose the draw. Rau got it back to Nils Höglander, who chipped it past David Ferrance along the boards. Marc Gatcomb picked the puck up and snapped past netminder Justus Annunen. A corner battle with one minute left led to the second goal by the Canucks. Spencer Smallman was trying to slip away from Linus Karlsson in the Colorado zone. Karlsson was able to poke check the puck away and speed down the length of the ice and wrist it through Annunen’s five-hole to tie the game at two.

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Third Period 

In the all-important third period, things started out fast and hard. About five minutes into the period, Foudy carried the puck all the way around the Abbotsford zone by himself. As Foudy passed the left side point, he dumped a pass off to Justin Scott. He took the shot aiming for Martin’s pad and a rebound shot. Hudon took full advantage and nailed it home for the 3-2 lead. As the game wound down, Martin left the crease for Abbotsford man advantage. Unfortunately, they were not able to hold on, as Colorado got a hold of the puck and Callahan Burke put the dagger in the heart to finish the Canucks out, 4-2.

Coach Cronin

We got a chance to catch up with Colorado head coach Greg Cronin and he was not happy with the way that the special teams has been playing lately.

“We seem to get into a rhythm like we did in Texas — we score three or four power play goals, all shots, and then we get out of that structure and we start trying to make cute plays and we just we’re not really good at making cute plays,” Cronin said.

An update on Alex Galchenyuk — he is out with a shoulder injury and is day-to-day.

Ryan Wagner is in concussion protocol, but making progress.

Conclusion

Colorado was able to play a fast and loose game tonight despite the lack of the power play. Their even strength play was outstanding throughout most of the game. Even with the keys to their offense missing, the Eagles are finding ways to win through grit and determination.

As the series shifts to Saturday, Colorado holds a one-point lead over Abbotsford in the Pacific Division for third place. If the Eagles can win again on Saturday, they will leave with a little more padding in the standings.