San Diego Trips Up Eagles in Overtime, 4-3
Dec 7, 2019
SAN DIEGO, CA. – Defenseman Jacob Larsson buried the game-winning goal 3:18 into sudden-death overtime, as the San Diego Gulls erased a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Colorado Eagles, 4-3 on Saturday. Eagles forwards Julien Nantel, Jayson Megna and Shane Bowers all netted goals in the losing effort. Goaltender Hunter Miska suffered the overtime loss, stopping 40 of the 44 shots he faced in the contest.
Colorado would waste little time before claiming the game’s first lead, as Nantel would dart through the left-wing circle before snapping a shot that would beat Gulls goalie Anthony Stolarz to put the Eagles on top 1-0 just 23 seconds into the contest.
The advantage would stretch to a pair when Megna grabbed a rebound on top of the crease and slammed the puck into the back of the net to give Colorado a 2-0 lead at the 1:54 mark of the first period.
The opening frame would also see two fights, as Erik Condra dropped the gloves with Corey Tropp, while Colin Campbell squared off with Max Jones.
Trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes of play, San Diego would carve into the Eagles lead when forward Antoine Morand settled a centering pass on top of the crease and wired it past Miska to trim the Eagles advantage to 2-1 just 3:38 into the second period.
As the middle frame neared its end, a Colorado turnover deep in the Eagles zone would allow forward Devin Sideroff to smack a puck across the goal line during a net-mouth scramble. The tally would tie the game at 2-2 with only 15 seconds left to play in the period.
The Gulls would claim their first lead of the night when defenseman Patrick Sieloff took advantage of a faceoff win in the Eagles zone and blitzed a slapshot from the left point that would light the lamp and give San Diego a 3-2 advantage at the 11:46 mark of the third period.
Colorado would generate an answer late in regulation when A.J. Greer fed a pass to Bowers on the side of the crease, allowing the rookie forward to sweep a shot past Stolarz and tie the game at 3-3 with 2:31 remaining in the third period.
Still deadlocked at 3-3 at the end of 60 minutes, the two teams would head to a sudden-death overtime period. With only 1:42 remaining in the extra session, Larsson would barrel his way through the slot before tucking a backhander past Miska to give San Diego the 4-3 victory. Stolarz earned the win in net, stopping 29 of the 32 shots thrown his way.
The Eagles finished a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill but were held 0-for-4 on the power play. Colorado was outshot by the Gulls, 44-32.
The Eagles return to action when they host the San Diego Gulls on Friday, December 13th at 7:05pm MT at the Budweiser Events Center.
Tickets for all regular season contests are on sale now and can be purchased at ColoradoEagles.com or by calling (970) 686-SHOT.
