Olausson Nets Two Goals in Colorado’s 5-3 Win over Reign
Nov 4, 2023
LOVELAND, CO. – Colorado forward Oskar Olausson scored his first two goals of the season, while goaltender Justus Annunen turned in a season-high 40 saves on 43 shots, as the Eagles completed a two-game sweep of the Ontario Reign with a 5-3 victory on Saturday. Forwards Matt Stienburg, Ryan Sandelin and Joel Kiviranta also lit the lamp in the winning effort. Former Eagles forward Charles Hudon provided a bright spot for the Reign with a pair of goals in the contest.
After a scoreless first period, Olausson would open the scoring just 2:30 into the second period when he fired a wrister from between the circles that would skip at the side of the crease and into the back of the net. The goal was Olausson’s first of the season and gave Colorado a 1-0 edge.
Later in the middle frame, Steinburg would cap off a 2-on-1 rush when he buried a shot from the right-wing circle, giving him his first professional goal and extending the Eagles lead to 2-0 at the 18:13 mark of the period.
After a fight between Eagles forward Dalton Smith and Ontario forward Jacob Doty, Colorado would strike again when Olausson forced home a rebound in the crease, putting the Eagles on top 3-0 with only 24 seconds remaining in the second stanza.
Colorado would keep its foot on the gas to begin the third, as Sandelin netted his first goal of the season when he tucked a shot from the side of the net past Reign goalie David Rittich, expanding the Eagles advantage to 4-0 at the 2:08 mark of the period.
The momentum would then shift, as Hudon beat Annunen with a one-timer from the slot on a 5-on-3 power play, slicing the deficit to 4-1 with 13:07 still left to play.
Ontario would take another bite out of the Eagles lead when forward Alex Turcotte slapped home a rebound in the crease to make it just a 4-2 Colorado advantage at the 14:35 mark of the final frame.
The Reign would then pull Rittich in favor of the extra attacker and the move would pay dividends, as Hudon lit the lamp from the right-wing circle, trimming the deficit to 4-3 with 2:10 still remaining.
The Eagles would finally stem the tide when a 2-on-1 rush saw Riley Tufte serve a cross-slot pass onto the tape of Kiviranta, who would smash a shot past Rittich to put Colorado on top, 5-3. The goal was Kiviranta’s first as an Eagles, while the assist extended Tufte’s point streak to eight games.
Ontario outshot the Eagles by a final count of 43-23, as Colorado finished the contest 0-for-5 on the power play and 7-for-8 on the penalty kill.
The Eagles will be back in action when they take on the Henderson Silver Knights on Tuesday, November 7th at 7:05pm 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.
