Prosvetov Shines as Eagles Top Abbotsford, 3-1
Feb 9, 2024
LOVELAND, CO. – Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov made 26 saves on 27 shots in his Eagles debut, as Colorado defeated the Abbotsford Canucks 3-1 on Friday. Forwards Tanner Kero, Chris Wagner and Spencer Smallman all found the back of the net in the victory, as the win now moves the Eagles into a tie with Abbotsford for fourth place in the AHL’s Pacific Division. Colorado won the battle on specialty teams, finishing the night 1-for-4 on the power play and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The first period would see a fight just 18 seconds into the contest, as Eagles defenseman Keaton Middleton and Abbotsford forward Jermaine Loewen dropped the gloves at center ice. Colorado would go on to earn the lone opportunity on the power play in the opening 20 minutes, but would fail to connect, sending the two teams to the first intermission with the game still scoreless.
The Eagles would open the scoring just 2:13 into the second period when Wagner swept home a shot from the between the circles, giving Colorado a 1-0 edge.
The Canucks would earn their first power play of the night later in the middle frame, but some hard work from Prosvetov and the penalty kill forced Abbotsford to come up dry.
As time wound down in the period, the Eagles would earn another opportunity on the man-advantage and this time they would make it count. Kero fired a shot from the left-wing boards that would deflect off a Canucks penalty killer and hop into the back of the net. The goal was Kero’s fifth of the season and extended Colorado’s advantage to 2-0 with 1:56 remaining in the second stanza.
Abbotsford would strike back just 1:45 into the third period when forward Chase Wouters buried a wrister on a breakaway, slicing the deficit to 2-1.
After killing off a four-minute, double-minor power play, the Eagles would swing the momentum when Smallman drove hard to the net before tucking the puck through the leg pads of goalie Arturs Silovs, pushing Colorado’s lead to 3-1 at the 17:16 mark of the final frame.
The Eagles outshot the Canucks by a final count of 33-27, as Silovs suffered the loss in net, allowing three goals on 33 shots.
The Eagles will be back in action when they take on the Abbotsford Canucks on Saturday, February 10th 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.
