Budaj’s 47-Save Shutout Propels Reign to 2-0 Win over Eagles
Feb 23, 2019
ONTARIO, CA. – Ontario goaltender Peter Budaj stopped all 47 saves he faced to collect his first shutout of the season and hand the Colorado Eagles a 2-0 defeat. Forward Zack Mitchell scored the game-winning goal early in the third period, while fellow forward Matt Luff added an empty-netter late in regulation to cap off the scoring. Eagles goalie Pavel Francouz stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced in the loss, as Ontario was outshot 47-22 in the contest.
The opening 20 minutes saw Colorado outshoot the Reign 15-9 and was highlighted by a fight between Eagles forward Kale Kessy and Boko Imama, but Ontario threw the brakes on three Eagles power plays to send the game into the first intermission scoreless.
The second period would see both teams earn several quality chances, but Francouz and Budaj would not budge. The Eagles would outshoot Ontario 13-8 in the middle frame, but the two teams would head back to the locker room still scoreless after 40 minutes of play.
The scoring would finally open up in the third period when a 2-on-1 rush for the Reign saw Brett Sutter find Mitchell in the slot where he would collect the pass before steering the puck past Francouz to give Ontario a 1-0 edge just 1:21 into the period.
Colorado would outshoot the Reign 19-5 in the final 20 minutes of action but would be forced to pull Francouz in favor of the extra attacker in the closing minutes of regulation. The move would create several quality chances for the Eagles, but it would ultimately lead to an empty-net goal for Luff with only 1:24 left to play. The tally would stretch Ontario’s advantage to 2-0, which the Reign would hold until the final horn.
Colorado finished the evening going 0-for-6 on the power play, while the Reign went 0-for-3 on the man-advantage.
Colorado returns to action when the Eagles return home to host the San Antonio Rampage at the Budweiser Events Center on Tuesday, February 26th at 7:05pm MT.
Single-game tickets for the 2018-19 season are on-sale now and start at just $18 per seat. Purchase your seats today by visiting the Budweiser Events Center box office, online at ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the Eagles ticketing department at 970-686-SHOT (7468).
