LOVELAND, Colorado — It has taken just over a month for The Colorado Eagles to play their first 10 CHL games. With eight of these games at home- the defending Governors Cup winners have amassed an excellent 7-2-1 record.
Greg Pankewicz behind the bench
The season opener began with the retirement ceremony for longtime Eagles Captain Greg Pankewicz, who has moved behind the bench as an assistant coach, and ended with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Texas Brahmas, the same team that ended the Eagles previous playoff run.
Between the first and the tenth game of the season the Eagles won seven games in a row before losing to the expansion Allen Americans on November 15th followed by a loss to the Rapid City Rush on November 17th.
Game two against the Texas Brahmas was a decisive win for the Eagles who hit the ice with determination and scored the games first three goals. Eagles newcomer, Ryan Mcleod, was responsible for two of the five goals scored against Texas in the victory.
Aaron Schneekloth and Erik Adams
Continuing with the light schedule for the month of October, Colorado only played two more games the rest of the month, recording a win against the other new CHL franchise, the Missouri Mavericks, on the 23rd and another win against the feisty Rapid City Rush a week later on October 30th.
November’s opposition started with another home game on the 6th when the Wichita Thunder roared into the Budweiser Events Center. The Eagles rose above the storm and battled the Thunder to a resounding 5-2 win.
Next up for November was a trip to Amarillo the very next night for the Eagles first away game of the season. The Gorillas were off to their best start in years, having started the season with four quality wins in the first five games. The Eagles managed a respectable 4-2 victory and headed back home for a rematch with the Gorillas on Veterans Day four nights later.
Mike Mole amd Jason Lundmark
Wearing the special Meadow Gold Dairy camouflage jerseys, the Colorado team dedicated their performance to all the current and former armed forces veterans. Scoring six goals assured not only an Eagles victory but every ticket holder in the building earned a discount from Wendy’s in the new Six Eagles Goal promotion.
A two game weekend set on November 14th and 15th with the Allen American’s was up next. With former Eagle great, Erik Adams, skating with the new team, it was a tough couple of games. Colorado manged to pull out a 3-2 win in the first contest where the opponents scored the first two goals and kept the home crowd on the edge of their seats until the final buzzer.
The second game of the back to back series was a different story with the Eagles jumping out to an early lead, but saw the American’s score four unanswered goals including an empty netter to send the hometown team to their first regulation loss and ending their seven game winning streak.
Game 10 of the season took place in Rapid City on November 17th where the Rush pushed the Eagles into a 3-0 hole in the first two periods. A late rally by the Eagles in the third period yielded only two goals and the Rush escaped with a 3-2 win.
Andrew Penner and Captain Riley Nelson
In December, the leisurely start to the season will be left behind as the Eagles will play 13 games including seven road games and a stretch of three games in three nights early in the month.
The good news is this Colorado team is healthy for the most part and the goal-tending has been divided nearly equally between the two goalies. Having the luxury of two highly talented net-minders allows for a ready and rested goalie for each and every game. Andrew Penner, who played so well last year, has a very complimentary partner in Mike Mole.
The roster has gone through some interesting changes from last season. From the retirement of Pankewicz and the loss of Adams to the vet rule and Konrad Reeder’s defection to Arizona to the unexpected retirement of Scott Pulaski, a lot of familiar faces are now in different places.
Greg Pankewicz and daughters
This season’s additions include Alex Penner, younger brother of goalie Andrew Penner, two returnees from previous years in defensemen Brett Thurston who played in the 2007-2008 season and Jason Lundmark is back from four seasons playing hockey in Germany. Lundmark played his rookie professional season with the Eagles in 2004-2005.
Brett Lutes, rookie Shane Foster, Jim Jackson, Felipe Larranaga, and Ryan Mcleod, the former Rocky Mountain Rage sniper, round out the list of new players on the roster at the 10 game mark of the 2009-2010 season.
Coach McClelland and GM Chris Stewart have once again put together an exciting team and talent rich team and if the first ten games are any indication it will be a very competitive one as well.
Contact the author/photographer at terry.sanford@prohockeynews.com
