Eagles gain ground in February

LOVELAND, Colo – With a record of eight wins three losses and one overtime loss for a total of 17 points the Eagle’s February record kept them in a strong position to secure a playoff spot in early March.

Returning to the Eagles from a stint in the AHL with the Worcester Sharks – forward Chad Costello picked up where he left off quickly regaining the ECHL scoring lead and helping the Eagles earn a few much needed wins. Also returning to the fold was forward Michael Forney who spent some time up with the St. Johns Ice Caps – the AHL affiliate of the Eagles parent club the Winnipeg Jets.
Colorado started the month with a 6 game winning streak before having the streak halted by a three game road losing streak encompassing one game against the Ontario Reign and two losses to the Stockton Thunder in three games in three nights in two different cities.
Coming home to close out the month of February with a three game set against Ontario – Colorado started out well with a 6 to 4 regulation victory for the Eagles on Wednesday Feb. 22. On Friday night Feb 24 the Eagles fell to the Reign 8 to 9 in a shootout. The game was a wild and woolly penalty filed fiasco that saw an unprecedented display of questionable officiating leading to a coaching ejection and a total of 28 penalties resulting in 11 of the 16 total regulation goals being scored on special teams. Included were five goals scored with a two man advantage.
Instead of having an All Star game this season the ECHL chose to honor a goalie and two skaters from each team with a special jersey in recognition for their excellent play. Colorado’s Golden Goalie, Kyle Jones, Offensive Silver Skater, Chad Costello and Defensive Silver Skater, Aaron Schneekloth wore the special jerseys during the February 24th game. The jerseys will be auctioned by the Mei Gray Group.
During the second intermission of the Friday night game it was announced in a special ceremony that the Colorado Eagles will be hosting the ECHL All Star Game in 2013. As exciting as that news was it was overshadowed by the negative energy in the building from the sub-par officiating.
With a different crew of officials, the game on Saturday night was the exact opposite of the previous night. Two hard working and evenly matched teams played to a draw in regulation with only 6 total penalties called through 60 minutes. The game winner was scored by Colorado’s Aaron Schneekloth while the Eagles were on a 4 on 3 Power Play in the Overtime period. The 5 points earned to close out the month of February have the Eagles entering the final month of the season with a record of 30 wins 19 losses 1 overtime loss and 5 shootout losses for a total of 66 points. Colorado is in second place in the Mountain Division behind Alaska with 80 points and in fourth place in the ECHL’s Western Conference behind Las Vegas with 75 points in second place and Ontario with 72 points in third place. Improvement in home ice play bodes well for the Eagles in the last month of the regular season. With more than half of the final seventeen games at home – a strong finish is expected from the Colorado Eagles.
The Eagles begin play in the month of March with two games on Thursday March 1 and Saturday March 3 against the Bakersfield Condors at the Budweiser Events Center both games start at 7:05 P.M. MST. Contact the author/photographer at terry.sanford@prohockeynews.com