Special Teams Truly Special in Win

BROOMFIELD, Colo. - The Colorado Eagles defeated the Rocky Mountain Rage, 7-3, by riding a nearly perfect special teams performance to their 41st victory of the season. Colorado went 5-5 on the penalty kill -- including killing the first four power plays of the game -- and scored three power-play goals in the second period to blow the game open on the way to going 3-4 overall on the night.

Riley Nelson's stellar week continued as he put the Eagles up just 28 seconds into the game on their first shot. Ryan Tobler fed the reigning CHL Player of the Week from behind the Rage net with a backhand pass and Nelson beat Marty Magers from the low slot to notch his fifth game in a row with a goal (tied for the second longest streak in franchise history).

Nathan O'Nabigon tied the game 10:29 into the first -- a shift after being robbed by Andrew Penner's glove hand from the doorstep -- by whacking home a Jarred Mohr rebound from the same spot on the ice. Penner's 19 saves in the opening period -- several of them outstanding -- tied for second-most in team history for saves in the first (one off the record) and marked the third time this season he's stopped 19 in any period (the other two coming in the third).

The Eagles used three power-play goals in the second period -- on their first three man-advantage chances of the night -- and traded even strength tallies with the Rage to take a 5-2 lead into the second intermission. Ed McGrane continued his own productive streak to make it 2-1 at 2:17 of the middle frame, setting a new personal high with a 15-game point streak (the fifth-longest in team history). McGrane, alone on the doorstep, beat Magers after getting a pass from Kevin Ulanski below the left circle.

But Rocky Mountain tied it up again just 26 seconds later after a turnover at the Eagles' offensive blue line led to a 2-on-1 for the Rage and Ryan McLeod got his third goal in as many games against Colorado off a feed from David Morelli. The Eagles would take over the game's momentum, however, with three successive power-play goals.

The first came at 9:23 -- with the Eagles up by two men -- when Aaron Schneekloth rocketed the puck into an empty net from the point as Magers was out of position after following a Greg Pankewicz rebound and getting knocked off his feet. Scott Polaski made it 4-2 just 37 seconds later during the second penalty by scoring his first of two consecutive power-play goals from the left circle up high on the Rage netminder; his second came at 13:58. At that point, Colorado had scored five goals on 18 shots (a shooting percentage of 27.8).

McGrane got his second score of the night at 6:55 of the third after Pankewicz locked the puck up against the boards below the goal line to the right of the Rage net before sending a blind pass up the slot to the streaking forward. The Rage, however, got another quick answering goal just 37 seconds later when O'Nabigon got his second of the night from Domenic Maiani and Aaron Davis. Konrad Reeder closed out the scoring at 10:49 when he beat Magers on a wide open breakaway from the neutral zone.