Specialty Teams Play Pivotal Role in Eagles 6-3 Win over Condors
Jan 11, 2019
LOVELAND, CO. – The Colorado Eagles netted two shorthanded tallies and a power-play goal to defeat the Bakersfield Condors, 6-3 on Friday. Eagles forward Logan O’Connor posted two goals and an assist, while fellow forward Martin Kaut added two goals in the win. Colorado’s two shorthanded goals now tie the Eagles for the league lead with nine shorthanded markers on the season.
A 5-on-3 power play for the Condors would lead to Colorado’s first goal of the game, as O’Connor would snag the puck at his own blue line and snap a pass to forward Caleb Herbert who had just released from the penalty box. Herbert would power his way through the left-wing circle before slipping a shot between the pads of Bakersfield goalie Dylan Wells to give the Eagles a 1-0 edge at the 7:53 mark of the first period.
Colorado would earn a power play of its own late in the opening stanza and it would result in another tally for the Eagles, as Kaut would snap a wrister from the bottom of the left circle that would light the lamp and stretch Colorado’s lead to 2-0 with 3:12 remaining in the period.
Heading into the second period, a power play that carried over from the previous frame would set up forward David Gust to beat Eagles goalie Pavel Francouz with a shot from the left circle to trim Colorado’s lead to 2-1 just 24 seconds into the period.
Bakersfield would go back on the power play just minutes later and again it would lead to a goal, as defenseman Logan Day took advantage of traffic in front of the net to bury a shot from the blue line to tie the game at 2-2 with only 2:54 gone in the second stanza.
Colorado would finally strike back with another shorthanded opportunity, as O’Connor would field a pass on the left-wing boards and drive his way to the top of the crease before navigating the puck around Wells and into the back of the net to give the Eagles a 3-2 edge at the 13:13 mark of the period.
Less than five minutes later, another Condors power play would set-up Gust to muscle a shot from the side of the net past Francouz to tie the game at 3-3 with 1:55 left to play in the middle frame.
As time continued to tick down, Kaut would skate along the blue line before driving through the right-wing circle and snapping a shot past Wells to give Colorado a 4-3 lead with only 1:39 remaining in the second period.
The third period would see Bakersfield throw 15 shots on net, but Francouz would stand tall in net to deny each one of those opportunities. In addition, Eagles forward Michael Joly would earn Colorado’s first-ever penalty shot in the AHL at the 12:59 mark of the final frame. Joly would draw the puck across the crease before pulling it back onto his forehand and steering it into the back of the net to grow the Eagles lead to 5-3.
The Condors would pull Wells in favor of the extra attacker in the final two minutes of the contest, but it would be O’Connor who would capitalize with an empty-netter with just 30 seconds left to play to secure Colorado’s 6-3 victory.
The Eagles finished the night going 1-for-6 on the power play, while Bakersfield scored three goals on eight opportunities on the man-advantage. Colorado has now scored 17 goals in the team’s last three games, including two shorthanded tallies and five goals on the power play.
Colorado returns to action when they host the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday, January 12th at 7:05pm MT at the Budweiser Events Center.
Single-game tickets for the 2018-19 season are on-sale now and start at just $18 per seat. Purchase your seats today by visiting the Budweiser Events Center box office, online at ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the Eagles ticketing department at 970-686-SHOT (7468).
