LOVELAND, Colo. — Coming into Wednesday night, the Colorado Eagles had an undefeated record at home. On Tuesday, they converted three of their five chances on the power play and raised their percentage to 16.67%. The inability to convert on two power plays hindered Wednesday’s offense.
Game two quick hits
- The Eagles struggled initially, constantly playing catch up. In the first period alone, the Henderson Silver Knights scored two out of three goals.
“I thought we had a slow start to the game, and it took us a bit to find our game and our legs, but I thought we had a nice stretch in the second period where we were skating pucks in behind them and creating some offense,” coach Aaron Schneekloth said. “And then the third period was more of a chess match, a little back and forth.”
- Alex Beaucage, whose season was cut short last year by a shoulder injury, has played four games this season. He has looked impressive with his skating, being forced to concentrate on that during the offseason rather than shooting. He got his first goal on Wednesday, with the assists coming from Ivan Ivan and Oskar Olausson.
“I don’t feel like I lost it (my shot),” Beaucage said. “Honestly, I feel like it’s one of my great attributes. I feel like it’s good. I have been working on my lower body most of the summer, so I feel like I am stronger and faster with my legs.”
Alex Beaucage gets his first goal of the year with a gorgeous feed from Ivan Ivan and Oskar Olausson #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/0ACpbLeyZB
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) November 9, 2023
- Turnovers by the Eagles from sloppy passes resulted in goals for the Silver Knights. Tanner Kero tossed a pass right into the slot onto Adam Cracknell’s stick and he snapped it into the net. In overtime, a missed drop pass in the Henderson zone gave possession to the Silver Knights that ultimately led to the game-winning goal.
A bad drop pass turns into the Henderson goal #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/NcI9DaE2Xb
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) November 9, 2023
The Eagles are trailing first place by only three points after 12 games this season. They currently sit in third place behind Henderson and the Abbotsford Canucks. With so many fresh faces on the club, not to mention quite a few injuries already, Schneekloth is not panicking after a 5–4 overtime loss at home.
“It’s early in the season,” Schneekloth said. “We’ve been learning on the fly. We’re still trying to figure out the true identity of our team. But we’re getting there. We’re taking steps every night. We’ve been rewarded here with some wins and we’ve got to keep building on it.”