Meyers’ Hat Trick Leads Eagles to 5-2 Win over San Jose
Nov 17, 2023
SAN JOSE, CA. – Colorado forward Ben Meyers netted three goals, while fellow forward Riley Tufte collected three assists, as the Eagles defeated the San Jose Barracuda 5-2 on Friday. Goaltender Justus Annunen earned his sixth win of the season in net, making 26 saves on 28 shots. Forward Oskar Olausson and defenseman Keaton Middleton also found the back of the net in the winning effort.
Colorado would jump out to a 1-0 lead just 3:07 into the contest when Meyers capped off a 2-on-1 rush with a shot from the top of the crease. The goal was Meyers second of the season, as Tufte and Wyatt Aamodt picked up the assists.
The Eagles would then earn the game’s first power play just minutes later and they would take advantage, as Olausson stole the puck in the low slot before flipping a shot into the back of the net. The goal now gives Olausson five goals in his last six games and extended Colorado’s advantage to 2-0 at the 8:01 mark of the first period.
The Barracuda would cut into the Eagles lead when they converted on their first opportunity on the man-advantage, as forward Justin Bailey was able to poke the puck across the goal line to trim the deficit to 2-1 with 2:46 remaining in the opening 20 minutes.
Colorado would regain its two-goal advantage when Meyers hammered a one-timer from the right-wing circle past Barracuda goalie Georgi Romanov, putting the Eagles up 3-1 just 25 seconds into the second period.
San Jose would outshoot Colorado 10-5 in the middle frame, but some key saves from Annunen and two successful penalty kills allowed the Eagles to carry their 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
The Barracuda would take another bite out of Colorado’s advantage when forward Ozzy Wiesblatt collected a pass in the slot and snapped it past Annunen, cutting the deficit to 3-2 at the 7:31 mark of the third period.
After having a goal waived off in the final four minutes of the contest, San Jose would pull Romanov in favor of the extra attacker. The move would allow Colorado to steal possession and feed the puck to Meyers, who would cap off his hat trick with an empty-netter from the side of the crease, making it 4-2 at the 19:05 mark of the final frame.
The Barracuda would again pull Romanov, and once again it would be the Eagles who would capitalize, as Middleton swept a shot from his own zone and into the vacant net. The goal was Middleton’s first of the season and put Colorado up 5-2 with five-tenths of a second remaining in the game.
San Jose outshot the Eagles by a final count of 28-27, as Colorado finished 1-for-2 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.
The Eagles will be back in action when they take on the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday, November 18th at 7:00pm MT at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, California. Tickets for all regular season games are on sale now and start at just $23. You can find more information on ticket packages, theme nights, and promotional offers, by visiting ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the ticket department at (970) 686-7468.
