Toninato’s Four-Point Performance Highlights Eagles 5-3 Win over Rampage
Feb 26, 2019
LOVELAND, CO. – Colorado forward Dominic Toninato scored two goals and added two assists as the Eagles defeated the San Antonio Rampage 5-3 on Tuesday. Colorado netted two shorthanded goals in the contest and now lead the AHL with 14 shorthanded tallies on the season. Pavel Francouz earned the win in net for the Eagles, stopping 36 of the 39 shots he faced in the contest.
An early power play for the Rampage would lead to the game’s first goal, but it would be Eagles forward Andrew Agozzino who would light the lamp when he capped off a shorthanded rush down the ice with a wrister that would give Colorado a 1-0 edge at the 8:07 mark of the first period.
With San Antonio still on the man-advantage, forward Ryan Olsen would even the score when he tracked down a loose puck at the side of the crease and swatted it past Francouz to square the score at 1-1 with 10:41 left to play in the opening period of play.
The Rampage would claim its first lead of the contest when forward Jordan Nolan stationed himself in the low slot and tipped a shot from the point into the net to give San Antonio a 2-1 advantage at the 15:16 mark of the first frame.
Heading into the second period of play Toninato would take advantage of a 2-on-1 rush when he fielded a cross-slot pass from A.J. Greer and blistered a shot past Rampage goaltender Jared Coreau to tie the game at 2-2 just 2:18 into the second stanza.
Toninato would strike again just minutes later when he smacked a loose puck into net during a net-mouth scramble to put Colorado back on top 3-2 at the 8:48 mark of the second frame.
A late power play for San Antonio would spark the Eagles second shorthanded tally of the night, as forward Max McCormick would scurry down the ice before beating Coreau with a backhander from the slot to extend Colorado’s lead to 4-2 with only five seconds left in the period. The goal was McCormick’s first in an Eagles sweater and gave Colorado a two-goal advantage heading into the second intermission.
Coreau would give way to Ville Husso in net to start the third period of action and the Rampage would also chip into the Eagles lead when Olsen netted his second power-play goal of the night with a shot from the slot to trim the deficit to 4-3 with 7:19 still left to play in regulation.
As time ticked inside two minutes, San Antonio would pull Husso in favor of the extra attacker, but it would be Greer who would strike with an empty-netter from center ice to give Colorado the 5-3 lead with 1:16 remaining in the contest.
The Eagles finished the contest going 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Rampage scored two goals on seven opportunities on the man-advantage. San Antonio outshot Colorado 39-22 on the evening.
The win pulls Colorado within two points of the Tucson Roadrunners for fourth place in the AHL’s Pacific Division, as Tucson will pay Colorado a visit for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday at the Budweiser Events Center.
The Eagles return to action with a rematch against the San Antonio Rampage at the Budweiser Events Center on Wednesday, February 27th 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).
