LOVELAND, CO. – Colorado goaltender Pavel Francouz stopped 43 of the 45 shots he faced to earn his 20th win of the season, while defenseman David Warsofsky buried the game-winner with 12 seconds remaining in overtime, as the Eagles defeated the Tucson Roadrunners 3-2 on Saturday. The victory now propels Colorado past the Roadrunners for fourth place in the Pacific Division with 15 games remaining for the Eagles.
Colorado would claim the game’s first goal when defenseman Sergei Boikov stepped into a one-timer from the right point and light the lamp to give the Eagles a 1-0 edge with 3:35 remaining in the first period.
The lead would be short-lived, as just 53 seconds later a shot from the blueline from defenseman Dyason Mayo would beat Francouz and tie the game at 1-1 at the 17:18 mark of the opening 20 minutes of play.
Colorado would hop back in the lead in the second period when a power play set up forward Logan O’Connor to tip a shot past Tucson goalie Adin Hill and give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage with 9:18 left in the middle frame.
Once again, the Roadrunners would be quick to generate a response, as a power play would allow forward Lane Pederson to collect a rebound in the left circle which he would fire into the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2 at the 14:11 mark of the second period. The period would also see Tucson outshoot Colorado 21-10 as the two teams would head to the second intermission still deadlocked at 2-2.
The Roadrunners would outshoot the Eagles 10-1 in the third period, but Francouz would stand strong, forcing the teams to head to sudden-death overtime still tied at 2-2.
In the extra session Francouz would shut down a breakaway from Pederson to keep the OT going and Colorado would earn a power play on a Jordan Gross hooking call. As time ticked down in overtime Warsofsky would fire a slapshot from the top of the right circle that would light the lamp and give the Eagles the 3-2 victory.
Colorado finished the night going 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Roadrunners scored one goal on six opportunities on the man-advantage. Tucson outshot the Eagles 45-20 in the contest.
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