Colorado Eagles Recap: Eagles lose in last moments against Wranglers

The Colorado Eagles drop their second game in a row and now head home.

The Colorado Eagles were looking to correct their mistakes from Friday night in a Sunday matinee against the Calgary Wranglers (CGY). Kappo Kähkönen remained in the crease for his conditioning loan from the Colorado Avalanche, hoping to impress enough for a backup role in Denver. Both Jean-Luc Foudy and Jacob MacDonald are still out of the lineup because of injury and no timeline (right now) for when they will return.

First Period

The game started out the same way it did on Friday night, with a lot of hitting and speed. Forwards Ondrej Pavel and Jayson Megna brought the speed while Jason Polin brought the weight. About four minutes into the first period, Megna got beaten around the corner and referees caught him holding a Wrangler. The Eagles would successfully kill off the penalty with several shorthanded attempts from Pavel and Polin.

Halfway through the first, Megna would redeem himself in a couple of ways. Hunter Brzustewicz tripped up Megna, putting the Eagles on the power play and giving them a chance at the lead. Colorado set up in the zone and passed it around the perimeter. Calle Rosén stood at the left point and sent it down to Matthew Phillips along the half boards. Philips threw it across the ice over to Megna, who tapped it past goaltender Devon Cooley. The period would end with an Eagles lead at 1–0.

Second Period

Colorado started the period with the shoulders slamming. They added a more physical aspect to the game, and it showed. Their aggressive play led to a high-sticking call by Calgary, but Colorado failed to set up anything on the power play. Matt Coronato had a shorthanded chance, but Megna tripped him up to stop the run. They both ended up in the box after Coronato took a dive on the play.

Chase Bradley had the best chance for the Eagle in the period. He stole the puck on the forecheck and then tried to shoot on a nearly empty net. Cooley just barely got his leg pad up to block the shot. With just a mere 30 seconds left in the second, Oskar Olausson led a rush into the Calgary zone. He tried to do a drop pass, but no one was there and it directly led to a Calgary rush and Martin Frk’s first goal of the season. The period ended in a 1–1 tie.

Third Period

The script flipped starting at the beginning of the period as the Wranglers came out swinging. Calgary would hardly allow the Eagles out of their own zone and throw everything toward goaltender Kähkönen. Eventually, the Eagles would level out the period, but Clark Bishop would strike again. With only 1:30 remaining in the game, Calgary won a face-off in their own end and took off toward the other end. Walker Duehr ran down in front of the benches and centered the puck to Bishop, who snapped it past Kähkönen for the go-ahead goal and to win 2–1.

Takeaways

The Eagles played a much better game today than they did on Friday night. Their forecheck was endless, putting a lot of pressure on the Wranglers. This created a few scoring opportunities, but Cooley came through for Calgary. The special teams all did exactly what they needed to by killing the penalty and scoring once on the power play. Bradley led all Eagles’ skaters with four shots on net and looks like he is about to break out.

Upcoming

Colorado will travel back home to take on the Texas Stars (DAL) for a two-game set beginning on November 1 at 7 p.m. at Blue Arena in Loveland, Colorado.