Five-Goal Third Period Propels Eagles to 7-5 Win
Dec 22, 2019
LOVELAND, CO. – Colorado erupted for a season-high five goals in the third period, including three goals in a span of just 24 seconds, as the Eagles defeated the Bakersfield Condors 7-5 on Sunday. The win now gives Colorado victories in each of their last five contests and points in seven straight games. The Eagles also closed out their six-game homestand by capturing 11 of a possible 12 points in the standings, including wins in five out of six. Colorado has now netted 26 goals in the team’s last four contests.
For a second straight game it would be Eagles forward Logan O’Connor who would start the scoring when he collected a pass from T.J. Tynan on a 2-on-1 rush and fed it past Condors goalie Shane Starrett to give Colorado a 1-0 edge only 4:08 into the contest.
Bakersfield would strike back minutes later when defenseman Keegan Lowe settled a rebound in the left-wing circle before snapping a shot into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1 at the 7:30 mark of the first period.
Starrett would exit the game late in the first period with an injury, as Dylan Wells would take his place in net for the duration. Wells would immediately be put to the test, as an Eagles power play would set up defenseman Calle Rosen to skate into the slot and bury a shot to put Colorado back on top 2-1 with 3:52 remaining in the opening frame.
The second period would see the Condors storm back, as forward Kailer Yamamoto would capitalize on a power play with a deflection from the crease that would light the lamp and tie the game at 2-2 at the 11:28 mark of the second stanza.
Bakersfield would then earn its first lead of the contest when forward Jakob Stukel drove down the right wing boards before slicing in front of the net and muscling a shot past Eagles goalie Hunter Miska to put the Condors on top 3-2 with 7:33 left to play in the middle frame.
A power play early in the third period would help Colorado level the score at 3-3, as forward A.J. Greer pulled a rebound off the left leg pad of Wells and fed the puck into the back of the net. The tally tied the game at 3-3 just 2:52 into the period.
With time ticking down in the contest, defenseman Dan Renouf would field a rebound in the right-wing circle and blister the puck into the back of the net to put Colorado back in the lead 4-3 with 4:57 left to play. It would take only 11 seconds for the Eagles to light the lamp again, as forward Jason Megna settled a rebound at the bottom of the right-wing circle and snapped the puck home to make it 5-3 in favor of Colorado.
Just 14 second after Megna’s tally it would be forward Martin Kaut who would barge across the blue line before burying a wrister from the top of the slot to extend the Eagles lead to 6-3 at the 15:27 mark of the third period. The tallies from Renouf, Megna and Kaut came in a span of 24 seconds, which establishes a new franchise record for the fastest three goals scored in team history.
Bakersfield would bite back when forward Kirill Maksimov fired a shot from between the circles that would beat Miska and cut Colorado’s lead to 6-4 with 2:56 left to play in the game. The Condors would ten earn a power play just seconds later and they would make it count, as forward Cooper Marody captured a loose puck and fired it home to trim the Eagles advantage to 6-5 at the 19:44 mark of the third period.
With Wells on the bench in favor of the extra attacker, Colorado forward Jayson Megna would force a turnover in neutral ice, setting him up to fling the puck into the vacant net to give Colorado a 7-5 lead with only three seconds remaining in regulation.
Colorado finished the night 2-for-9 on the power play, while the Condors went 2-for-4 on the man-advantage. Bakersfield outshot the Eagles by a final count of 30-29.
The Eagles return to action when they travel to Tucson, Arizona to take on the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday, December 28th at 7:05pm MT at the Tucson Convention Center.
Tickets for all regular season contests are on sale now and can be purchased at ColoradoEagles.com or by calling (970) 686-SHOT.
