Stockton Rallies for 3-2 OT Win over Eagles
Dec 17, 2021
STOCKTON, CA. – The Stockton Heat scored three unanswered goals, including a pair on the power play, to defeat the Colorado Eagles, 3-2 in overtime on Friday. Eagles forwards Cal Burke and Dalton Smith each found the back of the net in the loss. Heat defenseman Andy Welinski scored the game-winner with only seven seconds left in the extra session, as Colorado desperately tried to kill off a 4-on-3 power play.
The Eagles started the game with a bang when Burke wrapped behind the Heat’s net and fed the puck past Stockton goalie Dustin Wolf to give the Eagles a 1-0 edge just 1:35 into the contest.
The lead would grow when Smith skated to the low slot and fired a backhander into the back of the net to put Colorado on top 2-0 at the 6:09 mark of the first frame. The Eagles would go on to outshoot the Heat 14-9 in the period and headed to the intermission still leading, 2-0.
Stockton would push back in the second period, outshooting Colorado, 13-7. The Heat would also take a bite out of the Eagles lead when forward Eetu Tuulola sent a shot from the right-wing circle into the back of the net on the power play to trim the deficit to 2-1 at the 17:50 mark of the middle frame.
Still leading 2-1 after 40 minutes of play, Colorado would see the advantage slip away when defenseman Ilya Solovyov buried a wrister from the left-wing circle to tie the game at 2-2 with 9:28 remaining in the contest.
With 60 minutes unable to determine a winner, the game would shift to a 3-on-3, sudden-death overtime. After Eagles defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous was booked for a four-minute, double minor for high sticking at the 2:05 mark of OT, Colorado would be forced to go on a 4-on-3 penalty kill for the duration.
The game-winner would materialize when Welinski found a rebound on top of the crease and flipped it past Eagles goalie Justus Annunen to give the Heat the 3-2 victory with only seven seconds left to play in overtime.
Annunen suffered the overtime loss, allowing three goals on 35 shots, while Wolfe earned his league-leading 13th win of the season, making 26 saves on 28 shots. Colorado went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Stockton finished 2-for-6 on the man advantage.
The Eagles will return to action when they travel to take on the Stockton Heat on Saturday, December 18th at 7:00 pm MT at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California. 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.
