Turcotte Nets Hat Trick in Ontario’s 7-3 Win over Eagles
Apr 20, 2024
LOVELAND, CO. – Ontario forward Alex Turcotte scored three goals, while fellow forward Taylor Ward added two tallies of his own, as the Reign defeated the Colorado Eagles 7-3 on Saturday. Ontario finished the night going 4-for-5 on the power play, while goaltender Ryan Bednard collected the win in net, making 24 saves on 27 shots. Eagles forwards Ryan Sandelin, Peter Holland and Cedric Pare all found the back of the net in the losing effort. Goaltender Jake Barczewski suffered the loss in his pro debut, allowing six goals on 31 shots.
An early power play would get Ontario on the board, as Turcotte popped home a rebound in the crease, giving the Reign a 1-0 edge just 3:49 into the contest.
Ontario would strike again just 1:26 later when forward Samuel Fagemo buried a shot from the bottom of the left-wing circle, stretching the lead to 2-0.
Another opportunity on the power play would see Turcotte tuck home a cross-crease pass at the side of the net, putting the Reign up 3-0 at the 16:35 mark of the first period. Ontario would go on to outshoot Colorado 17-6 in the opening 20 minutes and carried a 3-0 advantage into the first intermission.
The Reign would pick up where they left off in the second period, as forward Taylor Ward fired a shot that would catch off the right leg pad of Barczewski, before flipping across the goal line. The goal was Ward’s 10th of the season and pushed Ontario’s lead to 4-0 at the 8:36 mark of the middle frame.
Still leading 4-0 as the puck dropped on the third period, the Reign would add to their total when Ward beat Barczewski between the leg pads, giving Ontario a 5-0 advantage at the 3:50 mark of the period.
A Reign power play would allow Turcotte to complete the hat trick, as he buried a wrister from the slot on a breakaway to put Ontario up 6-0 with 12:21 remaining in the contest.
The Eagles would finally get on the board when Holland lit the lamp with a wrister from between the circles, slicing the deficit to 6-1 at the 10:13 mark of the final frame.
Colorado would then make a change in net, as Barczewski gave way to Dante Giannuzzi for the duration.
Sandelin kept the momentum rolling as he stuffed home a rebound on the power play to cut the Reign’s lead to 6-2 at the 15:19 mark of the period.
The Reign would convert on a power play of their own when forward Nikita Pavlychev tucked a rebound in the low slot past Giannuzzi, giving Ontario a 7-2 advantage with 1:21 left to play.
Pare would round out the scoring when he fed home a puck to make it a 7-3 Reign lead at the 19:14 mark.
Colorado was outshot by a final count of 37-27 and finished the night going 1-for-2 on the power play. Giannuzzi ended the evening by making four saves on five shots.
The Eagles will be back in action when they take on the Ontario Reign on Sunday, April 21st at 3:05pm 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.
