Recap: Eagles split series against San Jose

The Colorado Eagles split the series against the Barracuda, fall to third in the division.

The Colorado Eagles wrapped up a short two-game road trip against the San Jose Barracuda (SJS), a team which they have won 12 straight games against. They have outscored the Barracuda 54–22 in that same timeframe, so the expectation is to come out of San Jose with two wins. It will be tough with the AHL’s second-highest scoring team (4.22 goals per game) and the Eagles filling the ranks of the injured Colorado Avalanche.

First Period

The Eagles would start the period out strong, not allowing the puck out of the Barracuda zone for three minutes. But San Jose would not need much to strike first. Justin Bailey ran the puck down the middle of the ice to the right of the slot. He had some slight pressure on him, so he dropped the puck behind him. Donavan Houle picked it up and roofed a shot past the shoulder of goaltender Trent Miner for the 1–0 lead.

About five minutes of nonstop action would pass until the Barracuda would strike again. And it was from almost the same spot. With just over eight minutes left in the period, San Jose pulled the Eagles into a cycle in the nearside corner. The Barracuda passed it up to the left point and worked their way back to the near side corner. Collin Graf sent a blue line passed over to Andrew Poturalski, who snapped it over to Ethan Frisch. The defenseman walked in and whipped a shot past Miner’s ear in the same spot as Houle did earlier.

The Eagles became more aggressive later in the period and started throwing the pucks on net. Wyatt Aamodt stopped a clearing attempt by San Jose and tossed the puck deep in the zone. Oskar Olausson picked up the puck and ran in the opposite direction, behind the net and up to the right point. He dropped it for Keaton Middleton, who dashed into the zone and snapped off a shot. The rebound bounced right to Olausson, and he hit the twine to make it 2–1 for the Barracuda.

Second Period

Miner showed he was a little more comfortable in the net, stopping several scoring chances by San Jose. The Eagles started the period by not letting the puck out of the Barracuda zone for over two minutes and applying firm pressure. About halfway through the period, the referees gave Calle Rosen an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but they didn’t say what he did to deserve it. The Barracuda set up their power play and snapped their passes off quickly. Luca Cagnoni saw an opening through the slot as Poturalski stood to the left of the net. Cagnoni wristed the pass and Poturalski threw the puck over a diving Miner for a 3–1 lead.

One thing that I have learned over the years is that Jean-Luc Foudy never gives up and he displayed that with about six minutes left in the second period. As the Barracuda were attempting to kill off a penalty, they stole the puck and tried to take a shot from the blue line. Jason Polin lay out to block the shot and Foudy took off in the opposite direction. The Eagles worked the puck around the zone as Jake Wise took a pass from Rosen in the corner. Wise rifled it across the slot and Foudy finished the job to make it 3–2 Barracuda.

Third Period

Colorado had some catching up to do in the third period and they would do it by throwing as much rubber on the net as they could. In the third alone, the Eagles had 17 shots on goal, doubling their shot total from the previous two periods. But that was not enough. Mistakes became costly as San Jose would convert on the power play once again. With 18:01 left in the period, the Barracuda worked the edges of the Eagles’ penalty kill. Shakir Mukhamadullin took a wrist shot from the right point that Miner could not handle and Tristen Robins was waiting to the left of the crease for the rebound and finished the job for the 4–2 lead.

Robins was not done yet. The Eagles were applying heavy pressure in the Barracuda zone with 6:36 left in the period. A rebound bounced to Ethan Cardwell and he screamed to the other end of the ice. Brandon Coe could not handle the cross-slot pass and had to track it down in the corner. Robins pinched down from the blue line and Coe set up a perfect shot for Robins to make it a 5–2 lead.

At this point in the period, the Eagles were doing anything they could to score, including pulling Miner for the extra attacker with four minutes left. At first, Colorado had trouble gaining control in the San Jose zone, Jacob MacDonald had the puck on the right point. He snapped it down to Matthew Phillips in the near side corner. Philips immediately saw Jack Ahcan collapsing down the slot and did not hesitate for the pass. Ahcan ripped it to the top left corner to narrow the Barracuda lead by two.

Takeaways

Penalties killed the Eagles on Sunday. Simple. The Barracuda had two power-play goals, and they won the game 5–3. Miner struggled to hold the post, allowing two bad-angle goals from almost identical spots on the ice. Sometimes Miner looked like he knew what he was doing and others he did not know. Unfortunately, it is looking like it will be Kevin Mandolese’s crease to lose this year with the early struggle of Trent Miner. On the bright side, Foudy has hit the ground running, getting his first goal in just his second game back from injury.

Upcoming

The Eagles will be back at home on Friday, November 15 against the Ontario Reign (LAK) in Loveland at 7 p.m.