Eagles Come Up Short in 4-3 Loss at Ontario
Nov 7, 2021
ONTARIO, CA. – Eagles defenseman Jordan Gross scored a pair of power-play goals in the third period, but it would not be enough, as Colorado fell to the Ontario Reign, 4-3 on Sunday. Reign forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan netted two goals, including the game-winner, as the Eagles saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. Eagles forward Dylan Sikura picked up an assist in the loss, extending his point streak to a league-best nine games.
Ontario raced out to a quick lead when forward Alex Turcotte stuffed home a rebound on the side of the crease just 1:09 into the contest to give the Reign an early 1-0 edge. That lead would grow less than four minutes later when forward Aidan Dudas snapped a shot from the right-wing circle that would beat Eagles goalie Trent Miner and push Ontario’s advantage to 2-0.
Colorado would strike back when defenseman Dennis Gilbert buried a shot from the high slot to trim the deficit to 2-1 with 7:31 remaining in the first period. The Eagles would go on to outshoot the Reign 15-4 in the opening 20 minutes and the two teams would head to the first intermission with Ontario still on top, 2-1.
Two penalties late in the first period would give the Reign an extended 5-on-3 power play to begin the second stanza and they would capitalize when Anderson-Dolan swept home a one-timer from the bottom of the right-wing circle to extend Ontario’s lead to 3-1 just 1:01 into the middle frame.
Later in the period, a 2-on-1 rush for the Reign would be capped off when Anderson-Doan collected a cross-slot pass and hammered a shot past Miner to make it 4-1 Ontario with 3:52 left to play in the second 20 minutes of action.
Still trailing 4-1 as the two teams hit the ice for the third period, Colorado would begin to claw back, as Gross buried a shot from the blue line through traffic to slice the Reign’s lead to 4-2 at the 7:38 mark of the final frame.
Another power play later in the period would set up Gross to skate to the top of the right-wing circle and fire a wrister past Ontario goalie Garret Sparks to trim the deficit to 4-3 with 7:51 still left to play in the contest.
The Eagles would earn yet another power play just minutes later, but would not be able to capitalize, forcing Colorado to pull Miner in favor of the extra attacker in the final minutes of the game. Despite earning some quality chances, the Eagles would not be able to summon an equalizer and the Reign held on for the 4-3 victory.
Sparks improved to 3-0-0 to start the season, making 21 saves on 24 shots, while Miner suffered his first loss of the year, allowing four goals on 21 shots. Colorado finished the afternoon 2-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The Eagles will return to action when they travel to take on the Texas Stars on Friday, November 12th at 6:00 pm MT at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas. Tickets for all regular-season games are on sale now and start at just $19. You can find more information on ticket packages, theme tickets, and promotional nights, by visiting ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the ticket department at (970) 686-7468
