Eagles Fall Short in 4-3 Loss at Tucson
Apr 15, 2022
TUCSON, AZ. – Colorado forward Kiefer Sherwood netted a pair of goals, while defenseman Jordan Gross generated three assists, but it would not be enough as the Eagles fell to the Tucson Roadrunners, 4-3 on Friday. Roadrunners goalie Rasmus Korhonen earned his first AHL victory in net, stopping 37 of the 40 shots thrown his way.
Tucson would get off to a hot start when defenseman Cam Crotty lit the lamp on the first shot of the game with a wrister from the top of the right-wing circle to give the Roadrunners a 1-0 edge just 56 seconds into the contest.
A power play for the Eagles would lead to an equalizer, as Sherwood found the back of the net with a shot from the left-wing circle to tie the game at 1-1 at the 10:38 mark of the first period. The goal was Sherwood’s team-leading 32nd tally of the season and extended his point streak to 10 games.
Tucson would swing the momentum back on the man-advantage when defenseman Victor Soderstrom took advantage of traffic in front of the net of Hunter Miska when he buried a shot from the blue line to put the Roadrunners back on top, 2-1 with 7:45 remaining in the opening frame.
Still trailing 2-1 as the puck dropped on the second period, Colorado would see the hole grow deeper when Tucson forward Cameron Hebig lit the lamp with a wrister from the bottom of the left-wing circle to stretch the Roadrunners advantage to 3-1 at the 5:23 mark of the middle frame. Colorado would go on to outshoot the Roadrunners 8-7 in the period, but would head to the second intermission still trailing, 3-1.
Tucson would capitalize for a second time on the power play when forward Terry Broadhurst tracked down a rebound at the bottom of the right-wing circle and snapped it past Miska to give the Roadrunners a 4-1 lead at the 8:53 mark of the third period.
Eagles forward Dylan Sikura would pull Colorado back within a pair when he smashed home a rebound on top of the crease to slice Tucson’s advantage to 4-2 with 8:21 left to play in the contest.
The Eagles would earn a power play late in the final frame and they would use the opportunity to pull Miska in favor of the extra attacker to establish a 6-on-4 advantage. The move would pay off, as Sherwood would bury a wrister from the right-wing circle to cut the Roadrunners lead to 4-3 with 3:03 still remaining.
Colorado would again pull Miska to bring out the extra skater and would generate a bevy of chances late in the contest. However, Korhonen would not cede an equalizer, as Tucson would hold on for the 4-3 victory.
Miska suffered the loss in net, allowing four goals on 18 shots. The Eagles finished the night 2-for-8 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill. Colorado outshot the Roadrunners by a final count of 40-18.
The Eagles will be back in action when they take on the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday, April 16th at 8:00pm MT at Tucson Arena. 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.
