Miska Makes 51 Saves in Eagles 4-2 Win over Tucson
Apr 22, 2021
TUCSON, AZ. – Colorado goaltender Hunter Miska stopped 51 of the 53 shots he faced as the Eagles defeated the Tucson Roadrunners, 4-2 on Thursday. Forward Sheldon Dries notched a goal and two assists, while fellow forwards Shane Bowers, Nick Henry and Jayson Megna all netted goals in the victory. Colorado went a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, while going 1-for-4 on the power play.
Tucson would strike first when a 3-on-2 rush was capped off by defenseman Victor Soderstrom who would light the lamp with a shot from the right-wing circle. The tally would give the Roadrunners a 1-0 edge at the 7:55 mark of the first period.
The lead would be short-lived, as Jean-Luc Foudy would force a turnover on the forecheck before sending a pass to Henry at the bottom of the right-wing circle. Henry would sweep a one-timer into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1 with 11:40 remaining in the opening 20 minutes. Tucson would go on to outshoot the Eagles, 16-13 in the period and the two teams would head to the first intermission with the game still deadlocked at 1-1.
Colorado would claim its first lead of the night on the power play when Megna stuffed home a rebound from the top of the crease just nine seconds into the man-advantage to put the Eagles on top, 2-1 at the 5:24 mark of the second period. Colorado’s penalty kill would also rise to the occasion in the middle frame, as the Eagles would shut down a pair of Roadrunners’ power plays to allow Colorado to head to the second intermission still leading, 2-1.
Despite being outshot 22-6 in the third period, Colorado would add a little insurance when Bowers crashed through the slot and fired a puck past Tucson goalie Ivan Prosvetov to stretch the Eagles advantage to 3-1 at the 16:32 mark of the final frame.
The Roadrunners would opt to pull Prosvetov in favor of the extra attacker in the final minutes of the contest and the move would pay off when forward Barrett Hayton tipped a shot past Miska to trim Colorado’s lead to 3-2 with eight seconds remaining.
On the subsequent faceoff, Dries would grab the puck off the left wing boards at center ice and fire it into the vacant net to secure the Eagles 4-2 win.
Colorado will return to action when the Eagles take on the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday, April 23rd at 8:00pm MT at the Tucson Convention Center Arena. Fans can catch every game this season live on “The Home of the Colorado Eagles,” 92.9 The Bear or on AHLTV.
