Eagles Lose Two But Get Good News
The Colorado Eagles received some good news over the weekend
after dropping two straight games in south Texas against the Corpus
Christi Ice Rayz and the Laredo Bucks.
Colorado Eagles right winger Greg Pankewicz was named the
Sherwood Central Hockey League player of the month for
November.
The announcement helped spark a spirited 2-0 victory against the
other expansion CHL team, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.
“Receiving this honor is a direct reflection of the ability of
this team as a whole,” Pankewicz said.
Pankewicz had a tremendous month. In13 games he had 13 goals and
20 assists. In addition, his plus-18 rating proved his worth to an
expansion Colorado team.
Pankewicz also leads the league in points (42) and plus-minus
rating (+21). He credited his big production totals to team play,
however.
“Good linemates are the reason behind my success so far,”
Pankewicz said.
The linemates he refers to are left winger Ryan Tobler and
center Riley Nelson.
Tobler was named the CHL Metal Blade Power Players for the
second time this season for his recent hat trick against the New
Mexico Scorpions on Dec. 3.
On Friday the Eagles hit the road after a six-game homestand and
ended up in Corpus Christi, Texas. Despite Colorado’s 3-0 lead in
the first period, Ice Rayz forward Jay Woodcroft exploded for four
goals, two in the third period, to cap a 6-4 comeback victory for
the Ice Rayz.
Saturday was another setback for the Eagles in Laredo. The
Laredo Bucks showed the Eagles the importance of an opportunistic
power play as they scored on all three of their power-play
chances.
The Eagles lost another lead in that loss, as Nelson scored two
early goals in the third and sixth minutes of the first period. The
Eagles have now lost four times when leading by more than one.
Nevertheless, the Eagles stepped into Rio Grande and Nelson
scored another first period goal. This time, Eagles goalie Ryan
Bach made the lead stand by making 40 saves.
“It was important to us to not only get the win but show we
could hold onto our lead,” Bach said. “We finally played 60 minutes
of solid hockey and I mostly credit my defensemen, they played
great.”
At 15-7-1, the Eagles still sit atop the Northwest Division.
They are second in the league behind Laredo, who is 18-3-1 and
9-1-1 at home. The Eagles are 9-2 at home.
The Eagles’ next home game is Friday night against the Wichita
Thunder at the Budweiser Events Center. The team returns again
Saturday afternoon against the New Mexico Scorpions.
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