Colorado Rides Four-Goal First Period to 5-3 Win over Stars
Mar 13, 2021
CEDAR PARK, TX. – The Colorado Eagles netted four goals from four different goal scorers in the first period to propel them to a 5-3 victory over the Texas Stars on Saturday. Mike Vecchione, T.J. Tynan, Ian Scheid, Miles Gendron and Liam O’Brien all lit the lamp in the win, as Colorado halted a three-game slide while also stopping the Stars five-game winning streak in the process. Texas forward Riley Damiani netted a natural hat trick in the loss for the Stars.
Colorado would kick off a first-period, offensive onslaught on the power play when Vecchione fielded a rebound between the circles and bashed the puck past Texas goalie Landon Bow to give Colorado a 1-0 lead at the 4:46 mark of the first period.
The Eagles would stretch their lead when Scheid grabbed a centering pass in the slot and snapped a wrister into the back of the net to put Colorado on top, 2-0 with 7:13 left to play in the opening stanza.
It would take less than two minutes for the Eagles to strike again, as Tynan would fire a shot from between the circles that would light the lamp and extend Colorado’s lead to 3-0 at the 13:56 mark of the first period.
Not finished with the outpouring of goals, the Eagles would make good once again when Gendron unfurled a shot from the top of the right-wing circle that would find the back of the net and make it 4-0 with 3:47 remaining in the opening 20 minutes of action.
Still leading 4-0 to begin the second period, Colorado would see its advantage trimmed down when Damiani flew down the left-wing boards before cutting to the net and lifting a shot past Eagles goalie Adam Werner. The goal would slice Colorado’s lead to 4-1 at the 8:43 mark of the second period. The Eagles would outshoot Texas, 11-10 in the middle frame and carried their 4-1 advantage into the second intermission.
The Stars would continue to chip away in the third period as Damiani would settle a rebound at the bottom of the left-wing circle and snap the puck past Werner to cut Colorado’s advantage to 4-2 at the 15:31 mark of the final frame.
Damiani would round out his hat trick just minutes later when he lit the lamp with a wrister to pull Texas back within a goal, slicing the Eagles lead to 4-3 with 22 seconds left to play in regulation. The Stars would then pull Bow in favor of the extra attacker, but it would be O’Brien who would take advantage with an empty-netter from center ice with only 18 seconds remaining in the contest.
Colorado finished the game going 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power play, as each team registered 29 shots on net. Eagles goaltender Adam Werner earned his first win of the season, finishing the night with 26 saves.
Colorado will return to action when the Eagles take on the Texas Stars at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas on Tuesday, March 16th at 6:00pm MT. Fans can catch every game this season live on “The Home of the Colorado Eagles,” 92.9 The Bear or on AHLTV.
