BOISE, Idaho (1/14/17)— Three different Eagles scored multiple goals and Matt Garbowsky netted his second hat trick in five games, as the Colorado Eagles (22-12-4) rolled past the Idaho Steelheads (22-12-4), a 9-3 final that snapped Idaho’s seven-game points streak in front of a sell-out crowd at CenturyLink Arena.
Garbowsky scored twice in the first 3:40 of the third period, including a short-handed breakaway, to grab the hat-trick and turn a 5-1 Colorado lead into a 7-1 lead. Garbowsky would also spring Josh Nicholls on a short-handed breakaway at 14:29 of the third period for Nicholls’ second goal of the night and Garbowsky’s fifth point of the contest. Garbowsky has 18 goals on the season, and 11 in the past eight games.
Colorado scored three goals in the first period, two in the second, and four in the third.
Mitch Holmberg had just one goal in his prior 18 games coming into Saturday’s contest, but he scored twice for Colorado. Holmberg opened the scoring at 5:33 of the first period on a wrister from the slot and added a power play goal at 18:04 of the second period to give the Eagles a 5-1 lead.
Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Kenny Brooks also found the back of the net for the Eagles, their 15th and second goals, respectively.
Anthony Luciani scored the Steelheads’ first goal at 2:02 of the second period, banging in a rebound for his team-leading 15th of the year to make it 3-1. Luciani has an eight-game points streak, with five goals and ten points.
Branden Troock would score his sixth of the season at 13:04 of the third off of a Travis Ewanyk face-off win to make it 8-2. Will Merchant’s 12th of the season on the power play at 15:21 of the third period capped the scoring at 9-3.
Philippe Desrosiers stopped 26 shots in a losing efforts, while Clarke Saunders moved to 13-4-1 for Colorado this season betweent he pipes. The Eagles were 2-for-4 on the power play, in addition to two short-handed goals.
The Eagles climbed past the Steelheads in the standings, both tied with 48 points but Colorado holding the tie breaker. Idaho moved back to third in the
Mountain Division. The Steelheads claimed nine of an available 12 points on their six-game home stand.
The Steelheads play one more game before the All-Star Break, travelling to face the Utah Grizzlies at Maverick Center on Mondayafternoon. Puck-drop is scheduled for 1:30pm MT. The game is available on 1350KTIK and on ECHLTV.
With Idaho Steelheads release