The Colorado Eagles were hoping to extend their six game win streak tonight against the San Diego Gulls. After playing last night in Ontario and securing a victory, Colorado headed down the coast to last place San Diego. With injuries piling up for the Eagles, this game was anything but easy. Ben Meyers did not even travel on the trip as he was out with an upper-body injury. Jean-Luc Foudy will be out week-to-week with an upper-body injury and Oskar Olausson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. So Colorado may see some lineup change once they get back home. Here are my takeaways from the 2–1 loss against the Gulls.
Takeaways
— Discipline became an issue in the first period. The Eagles had four penalties in the first period alone, making it difficult to gain any momentum until the second period. One penalty was a roughing penalty from Riley Tufte, but the other three put them on the kill.
Tufte lays down the hit and has no issue throwing down the mitts too #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/KlEpBQ2jpT
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) February 4, 2024
— Fatigue became a factor later in the game. This was the fifth game on the road trip, with two in Henderson and two in Ontario. This game was also in the second half of a back-to-back, but that is typical for the AHL. The Eagles, who have suffered from several injuries on the trip, showed a little fatigue in the second and third periods.
— Trent Miner held the Eagles in the game. Now playing in his 12th AHL game of the season, he has doubled his career appearances in the league. He has also officially played more games in the AHL than in the ECHL for the first time in his career. Tonight, he showed his confidence has grown with the experience. His lateral movement was excellent, showing that his time with coach Peter Budaj is paying off. Miner had a 2.05 goals allowed average and .920 save percentage for the night.
— Dalton Smith scored the only goal. After only playing six games last season because of a shoulder injury, Smith has not had many chances to score. As head coach Aaron Schneekloth has said, “he knows his role on our team,” Smith is more of a grinder than a playmaker. But Smith sure looked like a playmaker with the help of Jack Ahcan, Spencer Smallman and Ondrej Pavel.
Dalton Smith scores his first goal in almost a year! Ondrej Pavel, with constant pressure, forces a turnover with help from Spencer Smallman. Jack Ahcan gets the secondary assist #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/kQDjfylzsz
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) February 4, 2024
Conclusion
The “team is really clicking,” as Cal Burke said tonight before the game and this road trip showed that. The Eagles are coming home with eight out of possible 10 points. They jumped from seventh place to third, in a matter of five games. Miner can probably expect more work with Justus Annunen being recalled to the Colorado Avalanche. The Eagles will come home on Friday to play their division rival the Abbotsford Canucks, hoping to gain even more in the standings.