LOVELAND, CO. – Colorado forward Kiefer Sherwood netted a hat trick as part of a season-high, eight-goal effort, as the Eagles defeated the Tucson Roadrunners 8-1 on Saturday. Defenseman Dennis Gilbert earned a ‘Gordie Howe Hat Trick’, while forward Dalton Smith added a pair of goals, and eight different Colorado skaters generated multi-point performances. Goaltender Trent Miner collected his second win of the season, making 33 saves on the 34 shots he faced.
Colorado would jump out of the gates early, as forward Mikhail Maltsev stuffed home a rebound in the crease to give the Eagles a 1-0 edge just 4:47 into the contest. It would only take 42 seconds for the home team to strike again, as Sherwood snapped a wrister from the right-wing circle that would beat Tucson goalie David Tendeck and stretch Colorado’s lead to 2-0.
The Eagles would keep their foot on the gas and continue to grow their advantage, as defenseman Keaton Middleton bashed a rebound into the back of the net to put Colorado on top, 3-0 at the 8:38 mark of the first period.
As an Eagles power play came to a close, Colorado would strike again when Sherwood tucked home a loose puck on the side of the net to give the Eagles a 4-0 advantage with 3:45 left to play in the opening 20 minutes. The goal also chased Tendeck from the crease, as he would give way to Josef Korenar.
After carrying a 4-0 lead into the first intermission, Colorado would add to their total when Smith smashed a rebound past Korenar to expand the Eagles lead to 5-0 at the 3:55 mark of the second period.
Tucson would finally strike back when forward Tyson Empey popped a puck over the leg pad of Colorado goalie Trent Miner to trim the deficit to 5-1 with 9:13 left to play in the middle frame.
The momentum would quickly swing back when Smith tipped a shot from the blue line into the back of the net to give the Eagles a 6-1 advantage at the 15:39 mark of the period. Colorado would go on to outshoot the Roadrunners 18-6 in the second stanza and carried a 6-1 lead into the second intermission.
Despite being outshot 18-6 by Tucson in the third period of play, the Eagles would score the only two goals of the final frame. The first would cap off Sherwood’s hat trick when he fielded a pass in the slot and snapped it past Korenar to push Colorado’s lead to 7-1 at the 9:12 mark of the period.
Just over three minutes later, the Eagles would deal one final blow when defenseman Dennis Gilbert hammered a one-timer from the slot into the back of the net to put Colorado on top, 8-1 with 7:27 left to play in the contest. It would also signal the end of the night for Korenar, as Tendeck would re-enter the game to finish out the remainder.
The Eagles outshot Tucson 42-34, as Colorado finished the game 0-for-2 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
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