Hounds Win Fifth Straight at Chevy Centre Versus Colorado

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Colorado Eagles got out to a fast start behind Riley Nelson’s power-play hat trick, but the game turned on a pivotal Youngstown goal midway through the second and the SteelHounds clinched a playoff spot with a 7-4 win.

Youngstown-Colorado Box Score

Just like the game on Wednesday, both teams came out swinging off the opening faceoff as Jason Beatty pounded Milan Maslonka just three seconds in.  The Eagles again dominated the first, out-shooting the ’Hounds 15-6 on the way to a 2-1 lead.  Nelson got both goals on the power play as the Eagles went 2-6 on the man-advantage in the opening period.  The first goal was set up by Aaron Schneekloth, who sliced through the neutral zone and sent a pass into open space along the right-wing boards where Nelson picked it up in stride and beat Andy Franck from the circle at 1:16.  The assist moved Schneekloth into 10th place on the Eagles all-time scoring list with 104 points (32-72-104).  Youngstown countered with a power-play goal of their own at 8:56 when Joel Irving split the defense and got a feed between the circles before beating Sebastien Laplante.  But Nelson restored the Colorado lead when scored his second power-play marker of the period at 18:29 and in the process took over the team lead in goals with 36 (one more than Ed McGrane).

Colorado continued to pour it on in the second, out-shooting the SteelHounds 17-5 (shots were 25-6 total midway through the period).  Nelson got his third power-play goal at 3:34, giving him his second Hat Trick of the season (fourth of his career and 17th for the franchise) and putting his name in the team record books as the only player to ever notch three power-play goals in a game.  Nelson converted with a shot top-shelf from the right circle on a 5-on-3 advantage; Schneekloth got the assist, his third of the game.

Youngstown came back, however, scoring two goals on five shots in the second half of the period.  The first came after Laplante was shoved out of his net and knocked down.  The Eagles goalie then tried to climb over a fallen Youngstown player in his crease, but the downed man grabbed his leg to impede his progress and Jeff Genovy scored an easy short-handed goal at 15:27.  The SteelHounds got the tying goal at 18:05 – the first goal of the game to not come via specialty teams – when the puck snuck through a group of players in the low slot and Ryan Bennett swooped in for a garbage goal.

The SteelHounds took the lead for the first time in the game at 3:11 of the third when Bennett picked up a turnover and beat Schneekloth on a drive to the net before back-handing a low angle shot top-shelf with a nice individual play.  Chris Richards got the winner at 5:22 when he poked in a rebound from a similar spot and Genovy added his second of the game with an empty-netter at 16:49.  The scoring wasn’t finished however, as Bennett got a hat trick of his own with a spinning shot from the inner edge of the left circle less than a minute later.  Dave Iannazzo notched his 16th goal of the season with a score as time expired at 19:59.