PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. – The Colorado Eagles maintained their lead in the Turner Conference with an 8-4 win against the Arizona Sundogs. Kevin Ulanski continued his torrid pace (15 points in his past seven games), with a third period hat trick that included his second game-winning goal in as many nights.
The Eagles took a 3-0 lead in the first frame with a flurry of goals during the period’s second half. Adam Chorneyko picked up the opening tally at 13:14 when he took a feed from Dan Sullivan behind the net and roofed a shot from the doorstep. Adam Hogg made it 2-0 just 51 seconds later by knocking home a loose puck from the right side of the ‘Dogs’ cage. Riley Nelson then made it 3-0 at 16:52 with a power-play goal from the low slot just four seconds into a power play.
The Sundogs stormed back in the second stanza — with the help of a penalty shot and a pair of power-play goals — but the Eagles answered with a man-advantage marker of their own, taking a 4-3 lead into the final frame.
Arizona got its first goal at 5:45 of the second period when Jason Visser beat Kyle Jones on a penalty shot, snapping the Eagles’ netminder’s scoreless streak at 164:37 after posting shutouts in his past two games.
The ‘Dogs tied the game up by taking advantage of a Joe Grimaldi double-minor, cashing in on power-play goals 29 seconds apart midway through the second session. Mark Kolanos picked up the first on a shallow-angle shot from below the right circle, while Patrick Schafer’s came off a deflection.
Colorado, however, would re-gain the lead by taking advantage of an Arizona double-minor when Hogg picked up his second score of the game at 12:47 with a “garbage goal” from the doorstep.
The Eagles stretched their lead to 5-3 at 8:53 of the third period when Ulanski scored from in front of the net. But the feisty ‘Dogs kept coming as Kolanos got his second score of the game less than two minutes later by putting a rebound past Jones.
From there, the red-hot Ulanski took the game into his own hands, netting two more goals at 11:19 and 15:33 to record his third hat trick of the season. Scott May would add an eighth Eagles goal at 17:18 by knocking home his own rebound to ice the contest.
Colorado — which has clinched home ice advantage in the first round of the upcoming playoffs — will close out the 2010-11 regular season with a pair of games next weekend against the Fort Wayne Komets.