Eagles Storm Back to Defeat San Jose 6-5 in Overtime
Jan 20, 2024
LOVELAND, CO. – Colorado defenseman Brad Hunt scored two goals, while forward Oskar Olausson netted the game-winning goal just 1:29 into overtime, as the Eagles rallied to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 6-5 on Saturday. Goaltender Arvid Holm earned the victory in net, making eight saves on nine shots, after entering in relief of starting goaltender Trent Miner. Colorado dominated the specialty teams battle, finishing the night 2-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. Defenseman Jack Ahcan and forward Ivan Ivan each collected three assists in the winning effort.
San Jose forward Daniil Gushchin would open the scoring when he flung a backhander from the right-wing boards that beat Miner and gave the Barracuda a 1-0 edge at the 5:27 mark of the first period.
Colorado would tie things up just 31 seconds later when forward Matt Steinburg camped out in the slot and tipped a shot from the point into the back of the net, squaring the score at 1-1.
A power play would allow Colorado to hop in the driver’s seat when forward Cedric Pare deflected a pass in the low slot past San Jose goalie Magnus Chrona, giving the Eagles a 2-1 advantage with 6:28 remaining in the opening 20 minutes of play. Colorado would go on to outshoot the Barracuda 9-8 in the first stanza and carried a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
The Eagles would stretch their lead to 3-1 when Hunt lit the lamp with a wrister from the right-wing circle just 4:05 into the second period.
The momentum would start to swing when San Jose forward Tristen Robins caught Colorado in a line change and buried a shot on the rush from the left-wing circle, trimming the deficit to 3-2 at the 8:27 mark of the middle frame.
Barracuda forward Oskar Lindblom would even the score less than two minutes later when he tracked down a rebound in the crease and shoved it home, tying the game at 3-3 with 9:39 remaining in the second stanza.
San Jose would then build on the tilted ice just 40 seconds after Lindblom’s tally, as defenseman Valtteri Pulli collected a pass in the low slot and smashed the puck past Miner to give the Barracuda a 4-3 lead. The goal would also signal the end of the night for Miner, who would give way to Holm in net for the duration.
Still leading 4-3 as the puck dropped on the third period, San Jose would be forced to make a change in net, as Georgi Romanov came in for the injured Chrona to begin the final frame.
A power play for the Eagles would see Hunt blast a slapshot from the blue line into the back of the net, to tying the game at 4-4 at the 6:27 mark of the period.
Colorado would then reclaim the lead just 1:19 later when forward Ben Meyers snapped a wrister from the right-wing circle past Romanov, giving the Eagles a 5-4 advantage.
As time wound down, the Barracuda would pull Romanov in favor of the extra attacker, allowing Pulli to snag a cross-slot pass at the top of the crease before feeding it past Holm, evening the score at 5-5 at the 18:35 mark of the final frame.
As the game shifted to sudden-death overtime, Olausson would take a pass at center ice that would send him racing down the left-wing before snapping a wrister from the bottom of the circle that would light the lamp and give the Eagles the 6-5 victory.
Colorado was outshot in the contest by a final count of 24-23, as Romanov suffered the overtime loss, allowing three goals on five shots.
The Eagles will be back in action when they take on the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday, January 21st at 3:05pm MT at Blue Arena. Tickets for all regular season games are on sale now and start at just $23. You can find more information on ticket packages, theme nights, and promotional offers, by visiting ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the ticket department at (970) 686-7468.
