The Colorado Eagles headed to Bakersfield (EDM) to take on the Condors for a matinee game on Tuesday. This game would be the third meeting of the two clubs in the last week. In the last 10 games, the Eagles have held a record of 4–3–3–0, with first place within their reach. The lineup was more of a “take your pick” one, with eight rostered players hitting the injured reserve list and Jason Polin being recalled to the Colorado Avalanche.

First Period

The Eagles faced a challenging start, made worse by their injuries. The Eagles took charge in the first couple of minutes of the game. Colorado held two prime scoring opportunities toward Bakersfield’s goal, yet failed to convert either. Colorado committed an error within three and a half minutes, relinquishing possession in the neutral zone. Seth Griffith made a stretch pass to James Hamblin, and he easily put it past  Trent Miner .

With just under seven minutes played, Colorado went on their first power play of the game. Tristen Nielsen chased the puck into the corner, followed by Luke Toporowski. Nielsen tapped it up to Toporowski as he crashed to the net, and he finished with his first goal since January 18th.

The Condors gained a power play opportunity following Jayson Megna’s tripping penalty, with less than seven minutes remaining. With the best penalty killer in the box, Colorado struggled to clear the puck the entire kill, leading to a turnover in their own zone. Isaac Howard ended up with the puck low and wristed a shot on the down on the goal line to give the Condors the 2–1 lead.

Bakersfield was not done in the first yet. They dumped the puck into the Colorado zone as Keaton Middleton ran behind the net. Middleton lost possession; Alex Gagne then took it following a steal. Quinn Hutson finished the play with his 25th of the season.

Second Period

The Eagles tried to work their way back into the game, but discipline became an issue. As Colorado was finally racking up shots on goal, outshooting the Condors 5–2, Toporowski headed to the box for roughing. Ten seconds later, Megna incurred a double-minor for high-sticking, leaving the Eagles to kill a 5-on-3 penalty for almost two minutes. Hutson later hooked Middleton to make it 4-on-4 as the Eagles made it out of the period unscathed.

Third Period

The Eagles dominated the third period, mounting a comeback. It started with a beautiful toe-drag by Nielsen to work his way around the defenseman and pop it into the net.

One minute later, Mark Senden ran down to the corner as he saw Toporowski go to the net front. Senden backhanded a pass to Toporowski for the finish on one knee, and the tie game at three goals each.

A high-sticking penalty by Bakersfield put Colorado on the power play, and they took advantage of it. The Eagles peppered the net with shots as Jack Ahcan hit Danil Gushchin with his shot. The Russian picked it out of his feet and sent it between the pads of Matt Tomkins for the 4–3 lead.

As the game went into the final minutes of regulation, Bakersfield put on heavy pressure. Colorado lost control and the battle in front of the net as Sam Poulin chipped the shot over Miner’s pad.

Overtime and shootout

Guschin absolutely dominated the overtime period as he continuously stole the puck to keep it in the zone. His effort led to four of five shots by the Eagles in the extra frame. Ivan Ivan was the only one who could put the puck in the net for the Eagles in the shootout, while Poulin and Howard did so for Bakersfield.

Takeaways

Colorado has been having issues with puck management a lot as of late. Head coach Mark Letestu has pointed to this as being part of the reason the Eagles are losing games late. Turnovers on Tuesday led to at least three goals that Colorado had to fight back from. Also, the penalty kill has allowed six goals in the last nine periods of hockey, giving up leads and losing games. Despite starting the game without eight of their normal players in the lineup, they still held on and played well. With the shootout loss, the Eagles are now tied in points with the Ontario Reign (LAK), but remain in second place in the Pacific Division.

Up Next

The Eagles will head north of the border to play the Abbotsford Canucks (VAN) for a two-game set on Friday and Saturday nights. AHLTV on FloHockey.com will stream the game.