On Saturday, December 9, the Colorado Eagles suffered a brutal loss at the hands of the Tucson Roadrunners. Taking a 3-1 lead into the third period, the Eagles proceeded to squander the two-goal lead and relinquish three straight goals to the Roadrunners. The end result was a 4-3 loss on the back of a Tucson game-winner with just 23 seconds left in regulation.
Colorado head coach Aaron Schneekloth was ever the realist after the game. Asked if he could take any positives away from the game, Schneekloth was clear and concise.
“No, I don’t think so,” Schneekloth admitted. “I mean, we’re here on a homestand – not very successful – (but) proud of what we did last night. I thought the first 40 minutes (tonight) were okay, but going into the third period with a 3-1 lead in our building, it’s unacceptable.
“The immaturity showed. We just accepted them and their pressure the whole third period. I think we only had one shot the first 15 minutes of that period. So yeah, it’s unacceptable. We weren’t poised with the puck; we were afraid to make plays. We didn’t play north hockey and make them work for their opportunities. So no, I don’t think there’s any positives from tonight.”
The Eagles split the Friday & Saturday two-game set with Tucson, but the latter game felt deflating, especially after Coach Schneekloth’s comments. Colorado was about to head on a three-game California road trip, bringing a paltry 3-5-2 (.400 points percentage) road record with them. A bit of momentum is what they needed, and that’s exactly what they delivered.
Colorado took five of six available points, defeating Bakersfield 2-1 on Tuesday, Dec. 12 and Coachella Valley 1-0 on Sunday, Dec. 17. A 5-4 overtime loss against Ontario yielded one point, bolstered by a comeback after being down 4-2 halfway through the second period. The successful road trip may not have bumped the Eagles up from their seventh place in the Pacific Division, but it has closed the gap with third place Tucson to just two points.
A MINER ADJUSTMENT
A surprise from the Eagles road excursion was goaltender Trent Miner abiding in net for all three games. The Tuesday night affair against the bottom-dwelling Bakersfield Condors led to Miner stopping 31 of 32 shots for the win. Saturday’s match-up against Ontario was an offensive affair on both sides of the puck, with Miner and Ontario’s Erik Portillo allowing four goals apiece in regulation before the former allowed three of three shootout goals in the overtime loss. The Brandon, MB native then earned his first AHL shutout by downing the Firebirds, stopping all 22 shots faced.
Miner finished the road trip with a 2-0-1 record, almost 185 minutes played, 81 saves on 86 shots, a 1.67 goals against average, and a .942 save percentage. With usual starting goaltender Justus Annunen still being reported as “day-to-day” by Schneekloth, don’t be surprised if the Eagles continue to ride Miner as opposed to Arvid Holm in the weeks to come.
SECONDARY SCORING STEPS UP
Earlier this season, forwards Riley Tufte and Peter Holland combined for almost 60% of the Eagles’ scoring. While Tufte still leads the team in scoring, Holland has fallen out of the lineup with an injury. This has given the opportunity for others to step in and help out on the scoresheet.
Focusing again on Colorado’s California swing, leading scorers Brad Hunt, Cédric Paré, and Oskar Olausson – as well as Ivan Ivan and Wyatt Aamodt – all made an impact regarding the seven goals scored in three games. Kero had the game-winning goal with less than a minute left in regulation against Bakersfield. Kero, Ivan, Hunt, and Aamodt all tallied goals in the overtime/shootout contest against Ontario. Paré was the one and only goal scorer for either team early in the third against Coachella Valley.
The Eagles have overcome the injury absences of scoring threats Jean-Luc Foudy and Holland. Hunt (8G + 11A = 19 PTS), Paré (4G + 8A = 12 PTS), and Kero (3G + 8A = 11 PTS) sit second through fourth in team scoring. Olausson rounds out the top five just a point behind Kero (6G + 4A = 10 PTS). When Foudy and Holland return from injury, it will only make this improving forward corps better in the uber-competitive Pacific.
Around The AHL
WHAT’S NEXT
The Eagles (12-9-4) play host to the Calgary Wranglers (16-6-2) for the first time this season on Friday, December 22 (7:05 pm MT) and Saturday, December 23 (3:05 pm MT). Colorado traveled to Calgary in late October, suffering consecutive 2-1 losses on the 28th and 29th. The Wranglers sit atop of the Pacific Division with 34 points, just one point ahead of second place Ontario.
FINAL FACT
Between Stockton and Calgary, the Colorado Eagles are 9-16-7 against the Flames’ AHL affiliates since joining the league back in 2017. Stockton was 15-6-1 against Colorado from 2017-22, while the Wranglers are 8-2-0 against the Eagles from 2022 to present. AHL Calgary is undefeated at home (6-0-0) against AHL Colorado, while the Eagles are 2-1-1 hosting the Wranglers in Loveland.