Ruzicka’s Hat Trick Drives Heat to 6-3 Win over Eagles
Oct 30, 2021
STOCKTON, CA. – Stockton forward Adam Ruzicka netted three goals, including the game-winner, to help lead the Heat to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Eagles on Saturday. Forwards Kiefer Sherwood, Alex Beaucage and Andreas Wingerli all found the back of the net in the loss, while Stockton goaltender Adam Werner collected the win in net, stopping 28 of the 31 shots he faced in the contest.
Colorado would barge out to an early lead when Sherwood buried a shot from the right-wing circle for his league-leading seventh goal of the season, giving the Eagles a 1-0 edge just 1:22 into the contest.
Less than a minute later Heat forward Mark Simpson would collect a pass in the left-wing circle and blister a shot past Colorado goalie Hunter Miska to tie the game at 1-1 at the 2:19 mark of the first period.
A quick rush in transition would set up Stockton forward Glen Gawdin to hit linemate Luke Philp with a pass at the top of the crease where Philp would lift a shot into the back of the net. The tally would give the Heat a 2-1 lead with 6:32 left to play in the opening frame.
As time wound down in the period, an Eagles turnover in their own zone would set up Ruzicka to snap a shot from between the circles to stretch Stockton’s advantage to 3-1 at the 18:49 mark of the opening 20 minutes of play.
The deficit would grow further in the second period when Ruzicka fired a shot from the slot that would glance off Miska and into the back of the net. The goal would extend the Heat’s lead to 4-1 at the 4:26 mark, and it would also signal the end of the night for Miska, who would give way to Justus Annunen for the duration.
Needing to stem the tide, Colorado would create a turnover in the neutral zone and Beaucage would race down the left-wing boards before lighting the lamp with a wrister from the circle to trim Stockton’s advantage to 4-2 with 2:12 left in the middle frame.
Still trailing by a pair to start the third period, the Eagles would see their hole grow deeper when forward Martin Pospisil deflected a shot at the top of the crease, lighting the lamp and giving the Heat a 5-2 lead only 1:18 into the final frame.
Colorado would again scratch back within two goals when Wingerli snagged a puck at the blue line and skated between the circles before snapping a wrister past Werner to cut Stockton’s advantage to 5-3 at the 14:41 mark of the period.
As the clock wound down inside three minutes, the Eagles would pull Annunen in favor of the extra attacker, but it would be Ruzicka who would capitalize with an empty-netter to round out his hat trick and put the Heat on top, 6-3 with 2:00 left to play in the game.
Miska suffered the loss in net, allowing four goals on 18 shots, while Annunen made 13 saves on 14 shots. Colorado was outshot in the contest 33-31 and finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Eagles will return to action when they return home to take on the Texas Stars on Tuesday, November 2nd at 7:05 pm 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.
