LOVELAND, Colo – Game two of the Northern Conference semi-finals between the Colorado Eagles and the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs ended with the same score as game one but the journey to the second 4 to 3 Eagles victory was the opposite of the first win. Game one had the Eagles losing a two goal lead and then fighting back to win the game while giving up a late game goal. The second playoff game had the Mudbugs giving up a two goal lead with the Eagles fighting back and scoring a late goal to win the game. Riley Nelson, the high scoring veteran forward for the Colorado Eagles, started the scoring late in the first period with a power play goal that trickled into the net behind Bossier-Shreveport netminder Jon Horrel. Assisting on the goal were Kevin Ulanski and Erik Adams. Period two belonged to the Mudbugs who outshot, outworked, outscored and outplayed the Eagles for the majority of the second stanza. Three unanswered goals for the ‘Bugs put the Eagles down 3 to 1 late in the second. The first by Brett Smith came with help from Joe Ori and tied the game 2:09 into the period. Bossier-Shreveport apparently broke the game open when Ori tallied at 6:03 with an assist from Tyrel Lucas followed barely a minute later by a goal from Travis Clayton who received help from David Pszenyczny. Colorado’s rally began when Ed McGrane broke through late in the second period to get the Eagles within one goal. The start of the third period saw a much hungrier, more determined Eagles team come out of the locker room. Ryan Tobler tied the game at the 4:30 mark and the ice remained tilted for the remainder of the game. The game-winner came off the stick of defensive standout Aaron Schneekloth with 32 seconds left in the game resulting in massive celebration by the Eagles and their fans. On the Bossier Shreveport bench, Coach Scott Muscutt expressed his anger at the late penalty to Travis Clayton that led to the game winner for the Eagles, although the goal was scored seconds after the penalty was over. Andrew Penner kept the net clean for the last 30 seconds to seal the deal. Penner continued his acrobatic play in goal to give his teammates a chance to win, much as he has done all season. “He (Penner) makes the big saves when we need them, said Colorado coach Kevin McClelland. “He stands tall in goal for us.” On Tuesday morning the Eagles will fly to Bossier-Shreveport for the next three games (if necessary) starting Thursday, April 2nd 2009. With a 2 to 0 lead in the best of seven series the Eagles are guaranteed, at the very least, one more home game in Colorado. Contact the author at terry.sanford@prohockeynews.com
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