Power Play Drives Eagles to Eighth Straight Win

Power Play Drives Eagles to Eighth Straight Win

Jan 26, 2022

SAN DIEGO, CA. – Colorado went 3-for-5 on the power play, as the Eagles earned their eighth consecutive win with a 5-3 victory over the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday. Forward Kiefer Sherwood netted two goals and an assist, while defenseman Jordan Gross added three assists in the win. Goaltender Justus Annunen claimed his eighth straight win in net, turning aside 15 of the 18 shots he faced in the contest.

San Diego would take advantage of a power play to strike first in the contest, as a bad bounce off the end boards sent the puck to the side of the crease, where forward Alex Limoges would swat it into the back of the net to give the Gulls a 1-0 edge at the 17:13 mark of the first period.

Colorado would answer back just 32 seconds later when Sherwood capped off a 3-on-2 rush when he beat San Diego goalie Olle Eriksson Ek with a wrister from the bottom of the right-wing circle. The goal was Sherwood’s 12th of the season and tied the game at 1-1 with only 2:15 left to play in the opening frame.

Still deadlocked at 1-1 as the puck dropped on the second period, a power play early in the second period would set up forward Martin Kaut to blister a shot from between the circles that would catch a piece of Eriksson Ek before rolling across the goal line. The tally on the man-advantage gave Colorado a 2-1 advantage just 1:19 into the second stanza.

The Eagles would earn another power play just minutes later, and again they would capitalize. This time it would be Sherwood who would collect a pass at the bottom of the left-wing circle and hammer a one-timer into the back of the net, giving Colorado a 3-1 lead at the 5:17 mark of the period. The Eagles would continue to pour on the pressure, as Colorado outshot San Diego 23-1 in the middle frame and took their 3-1 advantage into the second intermission. The 23 shots were the most in a single period for the Eagles this season, while the one shot against was the fewest allowed by Colorado in a period during the 2021-22 campaign.

Another power play for the Eagles early in the third period would expand the lead yet again, as forward Dylan Sikura earned his second point of the night when he deflected a shot from the blue line past Eriksson Ek to stretch the advantage to 4-1 at the 8:20 mark of the period.

San Diego would finally answer back when defenseman Nikolas Brouillard skated to the slot and snapped a wrister that would light the lamp and trim the deficit to 4-2 with 10:16 remaining in the contest.

The Gulls would find themselves on a power play in the late stages of the contest and they would up the ante by pulling Eriksson Ek in favor of the extra attacker to make it a 6-on-4 man-advantage. The move would pay off when defenseman Trevor Carrick lofted a shot over the shoulder of Annunen and into the back of the net to cut Colorado’s lead to 4-3 at the 17:31 mark of the final frame.

San Diego would again pull Eriksson Ek to bring out the extra attacker, but this time it would be Eagles forward Cal Burke who would take advantage with an empty-netter to put Colorado on top, 5-3 with only 12 seconds left to play in the game.

The Eagles outshot the Gulls 40-18 in the contest, as Colorado finished 3-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.

The Eagles will be back in action when they travel to take on the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday, January 28th at 8:00 pm MT at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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.

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