Colorado Completes Epic Rally to Beat San Jose, 7-5
Mar 26, 2022
SAN JOSE, CA. – The Colorado Eagles netted a season-high five goals in the second period to erase a 4-1 deficit and defeat the San Jose Barracuda, 7-5 on Saturday. Forward Mikhail Maltsev netted a pair of goals, as the Eagles finished the game with two power-play goals and two tallies coming shorthanded. Hunter Miska earned the win in net, making 14 saves on 15 shots.
A turnover in front of the Eagles bench sent San Jose into the attacking zone on a 2-on-0, which forward Joachim Blichfeld would finish off with a shot from the slot to give the Barracuda a 1-0 edge just 4:29 into the contest.
San Jose would then force a turnover at center ice, propelling forward Evan Weinger on a modified breakaway, where he would beat Colorado goalie Justus Annunen along the ice to push the Barracuda’s lead to 2-0 at the 6:54 mark of the first period.
Later in the opening 20 minutes of play, a shot on net would dribble through the leg pads of Annunen, allowing forward Adam Raska to tap the puck from the crease into the back of the net to grow San Jose’s advantage to 3-0 with 5:54 remaining in the period.
The Eagles would finally answer back when Kiefer Sherwood centered a pass from the right-wing corner to the top of the crease, setting up forward Jayson Megna to sweep the puck past Barracuda goalie Alex Stalock. The goal was Megna’s eighth of the season and trimmed the deficit to 3-1 at the 17:40 mark of the first frame.
The momentum would swing right back when forward Antoine Morand seized a Colorado turnover and snapped a wrister from the left-wing circle that would light the lamp and put San Jose on top, 4-1 with only 1:23 remaining in the period.
Still trailing 4-1 as the second period began, the Eagles would stage a massive rally that would begin when forward Cal Burke capped off a shorthanded breakaway with a shot from the side of the crease that would beat Stalock and slice the Barracuda’s lead to 4-2 just 36 seconds into the middle frame.
A Colorado power play would continue the push, as Maltsev camped out at the top of the crease and deflected a shot into the back of the net to erode San Jose’s advantage to 4-3 at the 2:51 mark of the period.
For the second time in the period the Eagles would find themselves on the penalty kill and for the second time it would lead to a shorthanded breakaway. This time it would be forward Martin Kaut who would fly between the circles before slipping a shot between the leg pads of Stalock to tie the game at 4-4 with 15:45 left to play in the second stanza.
The Barracuda would strike back later in the same power play when defenseman Nick Cicek wired a wrister through traffic, beating Miska who had started the second period in place of Annunen. The tally put San Jose back in the driver’s seat, 5-4 at the 4:54 mark of the period.
Colorado would level the score once again when Maltsev fired a wrister from the bottom the left-wing circle that would deflect off a Barracuda skater and into the back of the net, tying the game at 5-5 with 10:21 left to play in the middle frame.
An Eagles power play late in the period would see defenseman Jacob MacDonald step into a towering slapshot from the top of the left-wing circle, lighting the lamp and giving Colorado a 6-5 edge at the 19:49 mark. The Eagles would outshoot San Jose 14-3 in the period and headed to the second intermission still on top, 6-5.
The Barracuda tried to fight back in the third period, outshooting Colorado 12-7 in the final 20 minutes of regulation. However, Miska would hold strong and force San Jose to pull Stalock in the final minutes of the contest in favor of the extra attacker. The move would backfire when Sherwood buried an empty-netter from his own zone to give the Eagles a 7-5 lead with 1:33 left in the contest.
Colorado finished the game going 2-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill, as the Eagles outshot the Barracuda, 32-25.
The Eagles will be back in action when they take on the San Jose Barracuda on Monday, March 28th at 8:00pm MT at SAP Center in San Jose, California. Tickets for all regular season games are on sale now and start at just $19. You can find more information on ticket packages, theme tickets, and promotional nights, by visiting ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the ticket department at (970) 686-7468.
