Stockton Turns on Heat in 6-2 Win over Eagles
Feb 9, 2019
LOVELAND, CO. – The Stockton Heat built a 2-0 lead in the first period and netted the final four goals of the contest to defeat the Colorado Eagles, 6-2 on Saturday. Logan O’Connor and Tyson Jost each notched a goal in the losing effort, as the defeat put the brakes on Colorado’s three-game winning streak.
Stockton would generate the first goal of the night when Eagles goalie Spencer Martin was forced to come out of his net to play the puck, but a turnover would set up forward Ryan Lomberg to bury a shot from the side of the cage to give the Heat a 1-0 edge at the 16:45 mark of the first period.
Another Colorado turnover 26 seconds later saw Stockton forward Buddy Robinson strip the puck at the Eagles blue line before racing through the slot and tucking the puck past Martin to stretch the Heat advantage to 2-0 with only 2:49 remaining in the opening frame.
Colorado would cut into the deficit early in the second period when a shorthanded rush set up O’Connor to bury a wrister from the left circle to trim Stockton’s lead to 2-1 just 1:18 into the middle frame.
After killing off the remainder of the Heat’s power play, the Eagles would level the score at 2-2 when Jost capped off an odd-man rush with a shot from the slot that would light the lamp and tie the contest at the 3:51 mark of the period.
Stockton would hop back on top 59 seconds later when forward Dillon Dube stormed down the left wing before slicing toward the crease and sending a backhander past Martin to give the Heat the 3-2 edge.
As time wound down in the second period and with both clubs in the midst of 4-on-4 hockey, Heat defenseman Adam Ollas Mattsson would unfurl a wrist shot from inside the right-wing circle that would hit the back of the net and grow Stockton’s lead to 4-2 with 2:54 left to play in the second stanza.
The onslaught would continue in the third period as forward Tyler Graovac would deflect a pass from the corner past Martin to give the Heat a 5-2 lead 4:22 into the final frame. A late power play would cap off the scoring, when forward Curtis Lazar cruised between the circles and buried a shot with 35 seconds left in regulation to secure the 6-2 victory for the Heat.
Stockton finished the night going 1-for-4 on the power play, while Colorado was held 0-for-2 on the man-advantage. Martin suffered the loss in net, surrendering six goals on 34 shots, while Jon Gillies stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced to collect the win for the Heat.
The Eagles return to action when they host the San Diego Gulls at the Budweiser Events Center on Tuesday, February 12th at 7:05pm MT.
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).
