Eagles Erupt for Season-High Seven Goals in 7-3 Win over Reign
November 6, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – Colorado Eagles News Release
LOVELAND, CO. – Colorado forward Oskar Olausson netted a pair of goals, while defenseman Brad Hunt chipped in three assists, as the Eagles scored a season-best seven goals to defeat the Ontario Reign 7-3 on Saturday. Goaltender Jonas Johansson earned his first win in a Colorado sweater, stopping 22 of the 25 shots he faced. The contest saw 12 Eagles skaters notch at least one point, including five multi-point performances.
A power play would help Colorado generate the game’s first goal when Olausson buried a wrister from the left-wing circle to give the Eagles a 1-0 edge just 7:47 into the contest.
Ontario would strike back 21 seconds later, as a Colorado turnover set up Reign forward Alan Quine to light the lamp when he fielded a cross-slot pass and swept home a shot from the right-wing circle, tying the game at 1-1.
Another Eagles power play would lead to another goal for Colorado, as forward Charles Hudon blasted a one-timer from the bottom of the right-wing circle past Ontario goaltender Phoenix Copley, giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead with 3:55 remaining in the opening 20 minutes.
Still on top 2-1 as the puck dropped on the second period, Colorado would cushion its lead when Olausson fired a shot from the slot that would beat Copley and make it 3-1 at the 7:42 mark of the middle frame.
The Eagles would strike again less than three minutes later when defenseman Mitchell Vande Sompel deflected a cross-slot pass into the back of the net to stretch Colorado’s advantage to 4-1.
The scoring would continue for the Eagles when forward Cal Burke dug a rebound out of the crease and flushed it home to expand the lead to 5-1 at the 12:08 mark of the second stanza. The goal would also spell the end of the night for Copley, who would give way to Matthew Villalta in net for the duration.
Ontario would see the door of opportunity open when Vande Sompel was hit with a five-minute major and a game misconduct after delivering a hit on Reign forward Austin Wagner in the left-wing corner. The five-minute power play would backfire on Ontario, as Colorado forward Jayson Megna capped off a shorthanded breakaway with a backhander from the top of the crease that would beat Villalta to give the Eagles a 6-1 advantage with 2:59 left in the period.
Colorado would go on to kill off the rest of the five-minute power play and took a 6-1 lead into the second intermission.
The third period would start with an early goal from the high slot from forward Sampo Ranta who would collect his first goal of the season and put the Eagles up 7-1 at the 4:54 mark.
The Reign would capitalize on a power play when forward Akil Thomas buried a shot from between the circles to slice the deficit to 7-2 with 14:05 still left to play in the contest. Fellow forward Lias Andersson would also find the back of the net with a shot from the slot, trimming Colorado’s lead to 7-3 at the 8:17 mark of the final frame.
The Eagles finished the night going 2-for-4 on the power play, while Ontario made good on one of its four opportunities on the man-advantage. Colorado outshot the Reign 35-25, as the team’s 35 shots tied the Eagles season high for shots in a contest.
Colorado will be back in action when they take on the Texas Stars on Tuesday, November 8th at 7:05pm MT at the Budweiser Events Center. Tickets for all regular season games are on sale now and start at just $21. 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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