Eagles Move into 2nd Place With Another Road Win
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Colorado Eagles defeated the Bakersfield Condors, 3-2, moving into 2nd place in the Western Conference as they picked up a point in their 10th straight game. Andrew Penner stopped 34 of 36 shots on his 29th birthday and helped the Eagles become the first team in the league with double-digit road wins (10-3-2).
The Condors got off to a quick start, scoring just 32 seconds into the game when Casey Pierro-Zabotel sent the puck on net from the left point and Jesse Gimblett poked it home when Penner failed to freeze it cleanly.
Colorado tied the game at 1 at 4:42 when Adam Chorneyko dropped a pass between his legs to Jon Landry entering the offensive zone, and the defenseman beat Bryon Pitton with a shot from the high slot; it marked the second night in a row that Landry scored on the Eagles’ first shot of the game.
But Bakersfield re-took the lead midway through the period with a power-play goal when Tyler Helfrich bakhanded the puck from slot and Peter Boyd swatted at it as Penner tried to snare it with his glove. The puck fluttered through the air, bounced off Penner’s back and into the net.
Both goalies played well in the second period, with the only goal coming at 16:04 when the Eagles tied the game up on a power play. On the goal, Luka Vidmar sent a cross-slot pass to Riley Nelson, who beat the Bakersfield netminder from the right circle.
Colorado claimed the game-winning tally at 2:22 of the third period following a faceoff win in the left circle of their offensive zone. Chorneyko won the draw to Chad Costello, who sent the puck back to Chorneyko below the circle. He then found Michael Forney alone in the slot, and the Winnipeg Jets prospect moved in and beat Pitton.
Penner continued his strong play — helping the Eagles kill the period’s only two penalties — and backstopped the win even as Bakersfield pulled Pitton in the final minute for an extra attacker.
The Eagles’ next game will be Friday night at the Budweiser Events Center against the Utah Grizzlies.