MacDonald’s Late Heroics Propel Colorado to 6-5 Win over Roadrunners
Apr 16, 2022
TUCSON, AZ. – Colorado defenseman Jacob MacDonald scored the game-winning goal with only five seconds remaining in regulation to break a 5-5 tie and give the Eagles a 6-5 win over the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday. Colorado built a 4-0 lead in the first 7:39 of the contest, but Tucson would roar back with four straight goals to tie the game at 4-4 in the second period. Nine different Eagles notched a point in the contest, with five Colorado skaters earning multi-point performances. Forward Kiefer Sherwood also extended his point streak to 11 games with a goal and an assist on the night.
An early power play would get the Eagles off on the right foot, as forward Martin Kaut spun and fired a wrister from the slot that would beat Tucson goalie Ivan Prosvetov and give Colorado a 1-0 edge just 50 seconds into the contest.
The lead would grow when Jean-Luc Foudy darted down the right-wing boards before wrapping behind the net and throwing a pass to the top of the crease. Forward Jayson Megna would field the pass and bash the puck into the back of the net to put the Eagles on top, 2-0 at the 3:44 mark of the first period.
Colorado would strike again when forward Dylan Sikura snapped a shot from the slot and lit the lamp to extend the Eagles advantage to 3-0 with 13:24 still left to play in the opening frame. The goal was Sikura’s 29th tally of the season, and it also spelled the end of the night for Prosvetov, who would give way to Josef Korenar in net for the duration.
Just 1:03 after Sikura found the back of the net, the Eagles would again take advantage of a power play when forward Shane Bowers buried a shot from the left-wing circle to stretch Colorado’s lead to 4-0.
A 5-on-3 power play would allow the Roadrunners to finally jump on the board, as forward Ben McCartney flushed home a rebound on top of the crease to trim the deficit to 4-1 at the 9:53 mark of the period. The Eagles would go on to outshoot Tucson, 14-11 in the opening 20 minutes and carried their 4-1 advantage into the first intermission.
The Roadrunners would storm back in the third period, starting with a shorthanded rush for forward Hudson Fasching who would beat Eagles goalie Justus Annunen with a wrister from the right-wing circle to trim Colorado’s lead to 4-2 at the 13:40 mark.
Tucson would take another bite just 45 seconds later when McCartney stuffed home rebound at the side of the net to draw the Roadrunners within a goal at 4-3.
With time ticking down in the period, Tucson defenseman Andrew Nielsen would level the score with a slapshot from the blueline to tie the game at 4-4 with only 2:02 left in the middle frame.
Still deadlocked at 4-4 as the two teams hit the ice for the third period, the Eagles would hop back in the driver’s seat when Sherwood collected a pass at the top of the crease and smashed the puck into the back of the net to give Colorado a 5-4 edge at the 5:37 mark of the period.
Tucson would answer back when McCartney capped off his hat trick as he barreled between the circles and tucked the puck past Annunen to tie the game at 5-5 with 3:06 remaining in the contest.
As the game entered its final seconds, MacDonald would collect a pass at the left-wing circle and fire a shot into the back of the net to give the Eagles a 6-5 advantage with only five seconds left in the contest.
Colorado outshot the Roadrunners 32-28, as the Eagles finished the night going 2-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. Annunen earned the win in net, making 23 saves on 28 shots.
The Eagles will be back in action when they return home to take on the Ontario Reign on Wednesday, April 20th at 7:05pm MT at the Budweiser Events Center. 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.
