The slump continues for the Colorado Eagles.
After being swept by the San Diego Gulls last weekend, the Colorado Eagles were looking to get back into the winning column they hosted the Stockton Heat in a two-game, weekday series — however, things would pan out differently, as the Eagles would be swept by the Heat in two tightly contested battles.
Tuesday, November 13 – Heat come back twice to beat Eagles 5-4 in overtime
Despite getting off to a quick lead against the Stockton Heat, the Eagles ultimately were unable to hold on to the momentum as the visiting Heat came away with the 5-4 overtime victory.
Eagles fans did not have to wait long for any action in the first game of the Eagles two-game series against the Heat, as the Eagles jumped up to a quick 2-0 lead with a shorthanded tally from Eagles forward Dominic Toninato and Eagles forward Logan O’Connor.
Despite the Eagles being able to get off to the quick start, the Heat fought their way back into the game as Heat forwards Tyler Graovac and Brian Pollack tallied a couple of power-play goals to head into the second period with the game tied at two goals apiece.
The Heat was able to tally another goal to kick off the second period, as Heat forward Graovac scored his second goal of the game at the 1:13 mark of the period. However, thanks to a couple of breakaway goals from O’Connor and Eagles forward Martin Kaut, the Eagles took a 4-3 advantage heading into the final frame.
The top line of Andrew Agozzino, Logan O’Connor and Martin Kaut of the Eagles continued to be a strong force in this game; the trio now has a combined 32 points on the season.
“I think one big thing that we do is [that on] every shift, when we come back to the bench, we dissect what we saw out there and what we have to work on going through the next shift,” O’Connor said. “We work well off of each other, and using each other’s little intangibles, that separates us as different types of players that ultimately have given us success so far.”
Holding the one-goal lead heading into the final frame, the Eagles allowed the Heat to continue to put on continuous pressure, and Heat defenseman Adam Ollas Mattsson eventually tied up the game to force overtime.
“We just had to sharpen things up,” O’Connor said about the message on the bench heading into the overtime period. “We sort of let them hang around there, which gave them that game-winning opportunity in overtime.”
In a back-and-forth overtime period, the Heat completed the comeback as newly acquired Heat forward Rob Hamilton fired a shot from the point past Eagles goaltender Pavel Francouz to nab the 5-4 overtime victory, and extending the Eagles’ losing streak to three games.
Wednesday, November 14 – Curtis Lazar lifts the Heat to 4-2 victory over Colorado Eagles
After a disappointing 5-4 overtime loss at the hands of the Heat the night before, things did not get any better for the Eagles as the Heat used a three-goal second period to come away with the 4-2 victory.
“It was disappointing; we have a great home crowd here [at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland] and we come up with zero [points],” Colorado Eagles head coach Greg Cronin said in the post-game press conference.
“I told them that it is a 68-game schedule, and you go through these funks,” Cronin said about his message to the team going forward. “So you have to be positive, have to do a little inventory of what you are doing wrong and what you are doing right, and it is either going to strengthen us as a group, or we are going to get sloppy. This is a stretch now where we are down one or two and we have to go back to being fundamentally sound.”
The loss makes for the second consecutive series sweep against the Eagles and pushes the Eagles losing streak to four straight games. Things do not get easier for the Eagles, as they will head on the road for a quick two-game California road swing against the Bakersfield Condors and the San Jose Barracuda this weekend.