Eagles Fall to Heat 5-2 in Fight-Filled Contest
Feb 16, 2019
STOCKTON, CA. – Colorado posted a season-high 44 penalty minutes, while Stockton generated a season-high 56 PIM’s in the Heat’s 5-2 victory over the Eagles on Saturday. The contest saw the two teams drop the gloves in four separate fights, which was also the most this season for each club. Stockton forward Dillon Dube collected two goals and an assist in the win, as the Heat improved to 5-1-0-1 in the season series with Colorado. Forwards Igor Shvyrev and Ty Lewis netted the Eagles goals in the losing effort.
Stockton claimed the early advantage when forward Mike McMurtry collected a cross-slot pass at the bottom of the right-wing circle and swept the puck past Eagles goalie Pavel Francouz to give the Heat a 1-0 lead just 3:12 into the contest. Colorado would close out the first period by killing off a pair of Stockton power plays, but still trailing the Heat, 1-0.
The Eagles would see the deficit grow in the second period when defenseman Rinat Valiev grabbed the puck off a faceoff and skated down the left-wing boards where he would fire a shot that would light the lamp and stretch Stockton’s lead to 2-0 at the 4:47 mark of the period.
The hole would become even deeper when Dube tracked down a rebound at the side of the net and skated to the bottom of the right circle before rifling a wrister past Francouz to make it a 3-0 Heat advantage with 5:14 remaining in the middle frame.
Heading into the final 20 minutes of action, Colorado would cut into Stockton’s lead when Shvyrev sliced through the left-wing-circle and snapped a wrist shot from the dot past Heat goalie Jon Gillies to trim the deficit to 3-1 just 2:48 into the third period.
Dube would put Stockton back up by three goals just 31 seconds later when he capped off a 2-on-1 rush with a shot from the right circle that would light the lamp and put the Heat on top, 4-1.
A power play for the Eagles just minutes later would see Lewis field a rink-wide pass from David Warsofsky before blistering a one-timer into the back of the net from the top of the right-wing circle. The goal was Lewis’ eighth of the season and pared Stockton’s lead to 4-2 at the 5:03 mark of the final frame.
The momentum swing would be short-lived, as a rush down the ice for the Heat would lead to forward Brett Pollock lifting a rebound in the crease over Francouz and into the back of the net to give the Heat a 5-2 advantage with 9:57 remaining in the contest. Colorado would throw 14 shots on net in the third period, but the Eagles would not be able to pull any closer, falling by a final score of 5-2. Francouz suffered the loss in net, allowing five goals on 24 shots, as Colorado finished the night going 1-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Colorado returns to action when the Eagles continue their three-game road trip against the Stockton Heat at Stockton Arena on Sunday, February 17th at 6:00pm MT.
Single-game tickets for the 2018-19 season are on-sale now and start at just $18 per seat. Purchase your seats today by visiting the Budweiser Events Center box office, online at ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the Eagles ticketing department at 970-686-SHOT (7468).
