For the second game of the season, the Colorado Eagles had an opportunity to split the series with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
After a 4–3 loss Friday night, something was working, but something was also unsuccessful. Going into Saturday’s game, it was up to coach Aaron Schneekloth to shuffle his players accordingly.
Though there were some changes in players, the Eagles dropped the game 5–2 despite outshooting the Griffins 43–25.
First period
Though appearing evenly matched in the first frame of the game, it did not take long before the Griffins jumped on the Eagles to take the lead. Just over seven minutes in, Arvid Holm let one through and Grand Rapids began to build upon their early lead.
Five minutes later, the Griffins found the back of the net once more. The Griffins outshot Colorado 10–9 in the stanza.
The Griffins add another to the board. Eagles now down 2-0. @TheRinkColorado #EaglesCountry
— Savvy Rafkin (@savvyrafkin) October 14, 2023
The Eagles went 0 for 2 on the power play in the first period, which would become a theme for the night.
Second period
Only 1:40 into the second period, Henry Bowlby found himself in the box for elbowing, leaving his team shorthanded. The Griffins found an opportunity to capitalize and increased their lead to 3–0.
The rest of the period remained scoreless for the Eagles despite having two more chances at the net with an advantage.
Third period
With two periods already in the book, it truly was do or die for Colorado. The Eagles had a power play chance but could not convert on it. For almost 10 minutes, neither team had found the perfect shot on the goal.
Breaking the scoring freeze, Grand Rapids’ Tim Gettinger makes the score 4–0. But, three minutes later, the Colorado Eagles finally made it onto the board.
Peter Holland, assisted by Caleb Jones and Cal Burke, raised the score to 4–1. With some refreshed hope, the Eagles favored an extra offensive player and moved Holm off of the ice.
Such a decision did not go unpunished, and once again Colorado was trailing by four goals after an empty-net goal by their opponent. Holm was returned to the crease for the final five minutes of the game.
In the last minutes of the game, Sam Malinski, with the help of Holland and Cedric Pare, finally cashed in on a power play and finished the contest 5–2.
Malinski delivering on the power play🤩 pic.twitter.com/9sbQL7h5a2
— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) October 15, 2023
Analysis
The first few games of the season are always unpredictable, and this weekend was no exception. The Eagles really struggled using the power play to their advantage, though seem to work effectively on the penalty kill.
The Eagles will have a rematch with the Griffins at home on Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. MDT.