Tufte’s Hat Trick Powers Eagles to 5-3 Win over Ontario
Nov 3, 2023
WINDSOR, CO. – Colorado forward Riley Tufte netted three goals to give the Eagles their first hat trick since April 23, 2022, and help drive Colorado to a 5-3 victory over the Ontario Reign on Friday. The Eagles also chipped in their first two shorthanded tallies of the season and lit the lamp via the power play. Goaltender Justus Annunen collected his third win of the season, making 22 saves on 25 shots. Reign forward Charles Hudon scored a pair of goals in the losing effort.
The scoring would start when Sam Malinski flew down the left-wing boards before flipping a pass onto the tape of forward D.J. Busdeker at the side of the crease. Busdeker chipped the puck past Ontario goalie Erik Portillo, netting his first goal in an Eagles sweater and giving Colorado a 1-0 edge at the 16:11 mark of the first period.
Just 1:08 later, Hudon would spin and fire a shot from the blue line that would elude Annunen and tie the game at 1-1.
Still deadlocked 1-1 as the puck dropped on the second period, the Reign would earn their first power play of the contest, but the advantage would backfire in a big way. The Eagles would start the shorthanded onslaught when Tufte tucked home a rebound on top of the crease, reclaiming the lead for Colorado, 2-1 at the 4:15 mark of the middle frame. The goal also pushed Tufte’s point streak to seven games.
The Eagles would bury another shorty 1:01 later when forward Henry Bowlby capped off a shorthanded breakaway with a wrister from the slot, pushing Colorado’s advantage to 3-1.
Hudon would again cut into the deficit, as he would camp at the top of the crease before deflecting a shot into the back of the net, pulling the score to 3-2 with 7:26 remaining in the second stanza.
Tufte would add a little insurance when he lit the lamp on the power play with a wrister from the slot, giving the Eagles a 4-2 lead at the 7:52 mark of the third period.
Again, Ontario would generate an answer, as forward Martin Chromiak slammed home a puck in the low slot to trim Colorado’s edge to 4-3 with 8:03 still left to play in the contest.
As time wound down in the game, Tufte would finish off his hat trick when he fired a shot from the right-wing circle that would deflect off Portillo before bouncing off a Reign forward and into the back of the net, putting the Eagles up, 5-3 at the 18:37 mark of the period.
Colorado outshot Ontario by a final count of 38-25, as the Eagles finished the night 1-for-4 on the power play and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Eagles will be back in action when they take on the Ontario Reign on Saturday, November 4th at 7:05pm MT at Blue Arena. Tickets for all regular season games are on sale now and start at just $23. You can find more information on ticket packages, theme nights, and promotional offers, by visiting ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the ticket department at (970) 686-7468.
