Colorado Eagles December Recap
Jan 3, 2023
By: Drew Galyardt
It’s the new year and Colorado enters 2023 ready to turn the page and continue to climb the Pacific Division standings as the second half of the season begins.
For the second straight month, the Eagles fell to the Ontario Reign in the first game of the month by a final of 3-1 before finishing up the road trip with two in Bakersfield. Rallying behind big games from Brad Hunt and Sampo Ranta who each had two goals in a 5-4 win on December 3rd, the Eagles played shutdown hockey in a 2-1 win on December 6th with Jonas Johansson the win between the pipes, making 34 saves on the afternoon.
Returning back home, Colorado was surprisingly swept by a struggling Henderson team, before winning back-to-back games against San Jose 4-3 and 5-2. Spencer Smallman and Cedric Paré scored in each game, and Callahan Burke posted 4 points (1g, 3a) in those two games. After splitting their last two games at the BEC against Bakersfield, the Eagles finished the calendar year on the road, dropping two games to the Iowa Wild, 5-3 and 2-1.
Looking at specialty teams, the powerplay had some trouble. Colorado scored only 6 times in 42 opportunities and dropped to 27th in the AHL at 16.5%. The penalty killing unit currently sits at 23rd in the league at 76.9%, with Colorado killing 30 of 37 penalties on the month.
Despite being called up with the Avalanche, Brad Hunt still leads the Eagles in points (6g-14a), and Charles Hudon remains the team’s goal scoring leader on the year with 10. The goaltending has still been stellar especially with Jonas Johansson between the pipes, sitting at third in the league with a 2.13 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
Colorado still sits in good position in the Pacific Division. The Eagles currently sit in 4th place, but only five points separate them from first place Coachella Valley, whom Colorado will face tomorrow evening. After that matchup, the team will head down to Arizona to face the Tucson Roadrunners, who sit right behind the Eagles in 5th place.
Once that quick road trip ends, the Eagles return back to the BEC, where they have an impressive record of 11-4-1 record at home this season, and when scoring first the Eagles have a record of 18-12-4-2. Colorado will once again have a six game homestand in January, and look to continue to produce in front of the home fans, and hopefully find the top of the standings once again.
Drew Galyardt is in his fifth season as the in-studio host and show producer for the Colorado Eagles radio broadcasts on 99.9 The Point. He also works in the Eagles front office as an Account Executive for the ticketing department.
