Colorado Comes Up Empty in 5-2 Loss to Griffins
Oct 14, 2023
GRAND RAPIDS, MI. – The Colorado Eagles threw 43 shots on net, but Grand Rapids goalie Sebastian Cossa turned in 41 saves to help lead the Griffins to a 5-2 victory over Colorado on Saturday. Five different skaters lit the lamp for Grand Rapids while Eagles forward Peter Holland and defenseman Sam Malinski each found the back of the net in the losing effort. Eagles goaltender Arvid Holm suffered the loss, allowing four goals on 24 shots.
As time expired on Colorado’s first power play of the contest, a turnover at the Eagles blue line would spring a 2-on-1 rush down the ice for the Griffins. Forward Austin Czarnik would finish it off with a shot from the slot that would beat Colorado goaltender Arvid Holm and give Grand Rapids a 1-0 lead at the 7:17 mark of the first period.
Less than six minutes later, a misplayed puck deep in the Eagles zone would allow forward Tyler Spezia to skate through the bottom of the left-wing circle before lighting the lamp with a wrister. The goal was Spezia’s first of the season and extended the Griffins advantage to 2-0.
Grand Rapids would go on to outshoot Colorado 10-9 in the opening 20 minutes and carried a two-goal lead into the first intermission.
The Griffins would capitalize on a power play early in the second period when defenseman Simon Edvinson blistered home a one-timer from the right-wing circle to put Grand Rapids up 3-0 at the 3:36 mark of the middle frame. The Eagles would earn two power plays of their own in the period but would fail to connect, sending the visitors to the second intermission still trailing, 3-0.
The hole would grow deeper when Griffins forward Tim Gettinger deflected a cross-slot pass at the top of the crease into the back of the net to expand Grand Rapids lead to 4-0 at the 9:23 mark of the third period.
Colorado would finally hop on the scoreboard when Holland buried a wrister from the right-wing circle to trim the deficit to 4-1 with 7:23 still left to play in the contest.
The Eagles would then pull Holm in favor of the extra attacker with just over five minutes remaining, but the move would backfire when defenseman Wyatt Newpower launched the puck from deep in his own zone into the vacant net, putting the Griffins up, 5-1.
A high-sticking call would give Colorado its sixth and final power play of the night and Malinski would take advantage, as he beat Cossa with a slapshot from the point, slicing Grand Rapids’ lead to 5-2 at the 17:24 mark.
The Eagles outshot the Griffins by a final count of 43-25, as Colorado finished the night going 1-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The Eagles will be back in action when they return home to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, October 20th at 7:05pm MT at Blue Arena.
