SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Colorado Eagles fell in Game Two against the San Jose Barracuda (SJS) on Sunday night. after dominating in Game One, Sunday was a game that ultimately became a battle of who made the least amount of mistakes. The Eagles could not stay out of the box and that cost them in the Barracuda’s overtime 2–1 victory. But this game may have resulted in more than just a loss for the Eagles. They may have to shuffle the blue line with the loss of a key defenseman.

Takeaways

The Eagles lost defenseman Jack Ahcan to an injury during the first period. He averages just under 23 minutes ice time in all situations for the Eagles. Ahcan has been specifically useful in the top power play unit as he quarterbacks the unit. The St. Cloud State alum is one of two players to play 69 games this season. The other player to play 69 games was Wyatt Aamodt. Losing Ahcan will make the blue line for the Eagles a lot less physical, so here is to hoping that it is not serious.

Discipline was a huge issue during Game Two for the Eagles. They had six penalties throughout the entire game, killing only five of them. This led to a lot less offensive chances for the Eagles, with only seven shots on goal halfway through the game. The last penalty of the game, a tripping call in the dying seconds of the third on Devante Stephens, is the one that hurt. While on this power play, the Barracuda scored just 27 seconds into overtime.

Trent Miner was the main reason that the Eagles stayed in the game. Despite getting knocked in the head by Scott Sabourin, he stayed in the game and made some spectacular saves. Miner stopped 34 of 36 shots on goal, racking up a .944 save percentage. There was not much he could do with the first goal that made its way past him. Jacob MacDonald turned the puck over during a power play and it led to a 2-on-0 against Miner.

If the Eagles can clean up their turnovers and ramp up their physical play, it will give them a better chance in Game Three. With the series heading home, this will give the Eagles enormous advantage. They had the best home record in the AHL at 26–6–2–2.

Upcoming

The Eagles will head home to Blue Arena in Loveland on Tuesday, May 6 to take on the Barracuda at 7 p.m. MT. AHLTV on FloHockey.com will stream the game.