Sikura’s Hat Trick Leads Eagles to 4-2 Win over San Diego
Feb 2, 2022
SAN DIEGO, CA. – Colorado forward Dylan Sikura netted the team’s first hat trick of the season, as the Eagles rallied for a 4-2 win over the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday. Forward Kiefer Sherwood scored the game-winning goal in the third period, as Colorado erased a 2-1 deficit in the final 20 minutes to extend the Eagles point streak to 13 games. Justus Annunen collected his 16th victory of the season in net, stopping 26 of the 28 shots he faced in the contest.
Colorado opened the scoring when Sikura snagged a rebound at the bottom of the left-wing circle and fired a shot past Gulls goalie Lukas Dostal to give the Eagles a 1-0 edge at the 12:59 mark of the first period.
San Diego would even things up minutes later when defenseman Axel Andersson stepped into a one-timer from the blue line that would weave its way through traffic and into the back of the net, tying the game at 1-1 with 3:14 left to play in the opening 20 minutes of action.
Still deadlocked at 1-1 as the puck dropped on the second period, San Diego would earn its first lead of the night when a Colorado turnover deep in the zone set up forward Bo Groulx to collect a pass on top of the crease which he lifted past Annunen. The goal was Groulx’s sixth of the season and gave the Gulls a 2-1 advantage with 9:57 left in the middle frame. Colorado would outshoot San Diego 10-8 in the period, but the Eagles headed to the second intermission still trailing, 2-1.
Colorado would kick off the third period with a bang when Sikura skated into the zone in transition and wired a wrister from the top of the left-wing circle that would beat Dostal and tie the game at 2-2 with 14:24 left to play in the game.
Just 1:18 later, a centering pass from Cal Burke would find Sherwood on top of the crease and he would bash it home to give the Eagles a 3-2 edge.
As time wound inside the final three minutes of regulation, the Gulls would pull Dostal in favor of the extra attacker. Despite creating several quality chances for San Diego, it would be Sikura who would capitalize with an empty-netter to complete the hat trick and put Colorado on top, 4-2 with 1:01 left in the contest.
The Eagles outshot the Gulls 34-28, as Colorado finished the game 0-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Eagles will be back in action when they travel to take on the Bakersfield Condors on Friday, February 4th at 8:00 pm MT at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, 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.
