If the Colorado Eagles wanted a chance at first place this weekend, they would have to win at least one of two games. They headed to Northern California to battle the San Jose Barracuda (SJS), one of the best power-play teams in the AHL. In their last 10 games, San Jose was 4–6–0–0 while the Eagles were 6–2–1–1. So momentum was in Colorado’s favor, but would they be able to take advantage of it?

Friday Night: 6–3 loss

On Friday, the Barracuda scored early against the Eagles. Within two minutes, San Jose quickly traversed the neutral zone, forging a two-on-one opportunity. Jimmy Huntington sent a cross-ice pass over to Egor Afanasyev, and he ripped it past Kyle Keyser for the opening goal.

Two minutes later, Jacob MacDonald took the puck behind the net to reset. He sent a bounce pass off the boards to Gavin Brindley, who passed it right away over to Tristen Nielsen for the wrist shot.

Some confusion on the blue line for the Eagles created an opportunity. Quentin Musty entered, capturing the Barracuda’s second goal from the left circle.

Four minutes later, Musty went to the box for a high-stick, but San Jose dumped the puck and it went off the boards into the middle of the ice. Patrick Giles grabbed the puck and tucked it behind Keyser for the shorthanded goal to make it 3–1.

With eight minutes left in the first, San Jose worked around the zone. They threw a couple shot on Keyser, getting him off balance, and Filip Bystedt picked up the garbage for the finish.

Colorado became more aggressive as Maroš Jedlička stole the puck at center ice, passing it off to Matt DiMarsico. The new signee took a shot from the point, and Jedlička redirected it into the net. It was DiMarsico’s first pro point.

There was a dramatic ending to the first as the Nielsen entered the zone with less than two minutes left. He saw Ivan Ivan coming down the other side of the slot and sauced it to him for the finish. There were seven goals scored in the period, ending with a 4–3 Barracuda lead.

Things tightened up in the middle frame for both sides. There was only one penalty for each side, but the score remained the same.

Review cost Eagles

A defensive battle unfolded through the third period until just under five minutes remained in the game. After a review of an Alex Barré-Boulet high-stick. The result was a double minor for Barré-Boulet and the Barracuda scored twice on the penalty, putting a nail in the coffin for the Eagles.

Saturday afternoon: 4–2 win

Game two opened on Saturday with some more fireworks of a different kind. Huntington ended the game on Friday with a dirty hit to Brindley, so it was time to pay. Right after the puck dropped, Keaton Middleton fought Huntington in a heavyweight bought.

The two sides exchanged penalties for the next 13 minutes of the period. Then Cooper Gay headed to the box on a slashing call. Despite outshooting San Jose 10–5, they would convert off a rebound following a shot off Trent MinerTrent Miner‘s pad that left the net wide open for Colin White.

The Eagles only needed 30 seconds to respond as Barré-Boulet dumped the puck into the zone for Brindley to retrieve. As Brindley skated to the blue line, he played catch with MacDonald, who lobbed a shot for Barré-Boulet to redirect over the goalie. The score would remain tied at one at the end of the first.

San Jose came out of the gate with guns blazing in the second. They would get the first three shots on goal as the Eagles struggled at first to exit the zone. Four minutes into the period, DiMarsico chased his own dump into the zone and passed to the front of the net. Jayson Megna came screaming down the slot and slammed in his 26th of the year.

After a couple of penalties back and forth, the Eagles tried to fight off the advancing Barracuda. Later in the second, Miner tried to play the puck away from himself with pressure right on top of him. Consequently with no room to make a play, the puck hit White and right into the back of the net to tie the game at two.

The last period is where the Eagles needed to make a stand. Four minutes into the period, Megna carried the puck into the San Jose zone. Afterwards, Nielsen picked up the puck and sent a no-look pass to the front of the net for DiMarsico to finish. It was his first pro goal.

Finish them!

To finish the Barracuda late in the third, Barré-Boulet won an impressive faceoff by pushing the puck forward to himself. Barré-Boulet then sent the pass to the top of the crease for Brindley to knock in for his first goal as an Eagle. Colorado would win the second game 4–2.

Takeaways

Colorado played a way too loose game on Friday night, and they paid for it with four goals. But they came roaring back with three of their own. Their power-play fell silent, obviously not scoring a goal in seven opportunities. However, Colorado showed great perseverance with the victory in the second game. Not only did they win, they did so with depth. Both Brindley and DiMarsico scored their first goals as Eagles, while DiMarsico showed extreme confidence on the ice. The Eagles head to Ontario with first place in hand (as of this writing) and have a chance to finally get ahead of the Reign.

Up next

The Eagles travel back to Southern California to battle the Ontario Reign (LAK) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. MT. AHLTV on FloHockey.com will stream the game.