Colorado Wins Fifth Straight with 5-2 Victory over Tucson
Feb 11, 2020
LOVELAND, CO. – Eagles forward Erik Condra notched two goals and an assist, as Colorado scored three power-play goals in a 5-2 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday. Goaltender Hunter Miska won his sixth consecutive start in net, denying 32 of the 34 shots he faced, including a penalty shot from Tucson forward Michael Bunting in the third period. The victory now puts the Eagles alone in second place in the AHL’s Pacific Division and only two points behind the first-place Roadrunners in the standings.
Colorado would survive an onslaught of chances from Tucson in the opening 20 minutes, as the Roadrunners would outshoot the Eagles 12-5 in the first period. However, a late power play would allow Colorado to jump into the lead when Condra deflected a shot past Tucson goalie Ivan Prosvetov. The tally was Condra’s 13th goal of the season and gave the Eagles a 1-0 edge at the 18:15 mark of the opening stanza.
Still on top 1-0 as the teams hit the ice for the second period, Colorado would see that lead disappear when Roadrunners forward Brayden Burke tucked home a shot from the side of the net on the power play to tie the game at 1-1 at the 8:55 mark of the middle frame.
In a bizarre swing of momentum, a delayed penalty against the Eagles would see Tucson pull Prosvetov to bring the extra attacker onto the ice. However, a Roadrunners turnover at center ice would slide back into their zone and into the vacant net. The goal would be credited to Condra, as Colorado reclaimed the lead, 2-1 with 8:39 remaining in the period.
The Eagles would then take advantage of a late power play when forward Sheldon Dries smashed a rebound at the side of the crease past Prosvetov to stretch Colorado’s lead to 3-1 at the 19:19 mark of the second period.
Forward A.J. Greer would give the Eagles a little more insurance when he tipped a shot into the back of the net with 6:46 left to play in the third period, pushing Colorado’s advantage to 4-1.
Tucson would answer back when forward Michael Chaput camped in front of the crease and deflected a shot from the point past Miska, slicing the Eagles lead to 4-2 at the 14:14 mark of the final frame.
A 5-on-3 power play would put Colorado right back on the board, as defenseman Kevin Connauton belted a slapshot from the top of the right-wing circle into the back of the net to give the Eagles a 5-2 advantage with only 51 seconds remaining in regulation.
Colorado finished the night going 3-for-6 on the power play, marking the second consecutive game in which the Eagles have buried three goals on the man-advantage. The Roadrunners connected for one goal on five opportunities on the power play. Colorado was outshot in the contest, 34-21.
The Eagles return to action when they host the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday, February 12th at 7:05pm MT at the Budweiser Events Center.
Tickets for all regular season contests are on sale now and can be purchased at ColoradoEagles.com or by calling (970) 686-SHOT.
