Colorado Eagles earn back-to-back sweeps in their defeat of the Ontario Reign

The Colorado Eagles advanced to Round 3 in the Calder Cup Playoffs with their win over the Ontario Reign on Sunday night. The Eagles neatly wrapped things up with Henderson in the 1st Round, but Round 2 asked just a bit more of them in a best-of-5 with Ontario getting the home-ice advantage in the final 3 games of the series.

The series began at home for Colorado and they knew they had to capitalize on the home crowd to build momentum ahead of the looming road games. Their regular-season record against Ontario, 4-2-0, gave hope that the Eagles had all the tools to get it done, but they would have to do it without the services of leading goal scorer Dylan Sikura who put up 6 goals and 4 assists in the regular-season matchup against Ontario.  

Sikura suffered a UBI in the Henderson series and is expected back for the division finals for Round 3.

Game 1:

Thankfully returning to the Eagles lineup after missing time in Game 2 from the Henderson series were co-captains Jayson Megna and Jacob MacDonald (UBI). After taking a puck to the face against Henderson, Megna left the game and did not return. He arrived for Game 1 against Ontario with a full shield to lead the Eagles into battle.

Perhaps the most entertaining game of the series, the Eagles delivered a powerful message in Game 1 with a 10-1 defeat of the Reign. They set 2 records for the most goals ever scored in a playoff game and the most scored in a single period.

In the absence of Sikura, Oskar Olausson made his professional debut on the top line alongside Kiefer Sherwood (briefly) and Mikhail Maltsev. After a hit on Jean-Luc Foudy from Thomas Hickey, Sherwood targeted Hickey with a crosscheck and received a game misconduct which resulted in a 1 game suspension. Olausson had a two-point night and looked comfortable with the pace of Game 1, even receiving looks on the powerplay.

“I know he’s got a good shot. On the power play he’s really poised with the puck, and we felt those qualities would translate on a top line. I thought he did a good job,” Cronin said of Olausson’s debut. “Maltsev and Sherwood are smart, reliable veterans and it can help a guy like that go into a game and not have a lot of nerves. He’s a good powerplay guy, he could play on the first powerplay. We’re not questioning that at all.”

Within the first 6 minutes, the Eagles scored 3 back-to-back goals, 2 of which came shorthanded. The penalty kill unit, which has remained perfect in this series (12/12) and near-perfect through both rounds, has 3 shorthanded goals to their name.

One newer addition to the penalty kill is defenseman Wyatt Aamodt. His game has improved a lot since his arrival at the end of the regular season.

“Wyatt’s getting better and better. Aaron Schneekloth has done a really good job with our D. [Aamodt] does some things killing penalties that other guys aren’t doing, so he’s on every kill,” said Cronin. “He’s fearless, blocks shots, he’s strong in his skates, and he’s got poise with the puck. I’m very happy with him.”

Also returning to the lineup was Sampo Ranta who had been out of the lineup since early March due to an ankle injury. He played on the 4th line alongside Andreas Wingerli and Cal Burke. In the 10-goal game, Ranta, Wingerli, and Aamodt were the only 3 players (outside of goaltender, Justus Anunnen) who did not register a point. Ranta did however play a part in Alex Beaucage’s goal in the 2nd period.

Overall it was a high-scoring affair: Maltsev and Sherwood each had 2 goals, Keaton Middleton had 3 points, and Foudy, Olausson, and Jordan Gross all had 2 assists apiece. Not lost in all of this was a solid performance from Annunen who made 34 saves on 35 shots.

Game 2:

The Eagles knew they would have to make it count. Sherwood and Andreas Englund both received 1 game suspensions and would not play. Olausson got another chance on the top line this time alongside Maltsev and Martin Kaut. Also returning to the lineup was Shane Bowers who would play on the 2nd line with Megna and Foudy.

Jordan Gross opened up the scoring for the Eagles with what would be the only powerplay goal of 7 chances that night. This was understandably a more closely fought match up after the theatrics of Game 1. Goals were exchanged back and forth through the beginning of the 3rd period wherein the game began to tighten. 

Wagner and Megna scored to give the Eagles a 4-2 lead, but Ontario answered. With about 3 minutes remaining, Ontario pulled their goaltender and scored 2 late-period goals from Akil Thomas and Vladimir Tkachev to tie the game and force overtime.

“I’m not comfortable ever in a playoff series”, explained Cronin. “I wasn’t comfortable when it was 4-2 with 3 minutes to go. It’s the nature of the playoffs and there’s no easy wins. We’re gonna have to continue to build on what we are as a group.”

Cronin was referring to the kill of 2 back-to-back minor penalties at the start of overtime. Roland McKeown and Kaut both drew penalties one after the other and, needless to say, Cronin was also uncomfortable then.

Offensively, Middleton’s playoff performance has been surprising, but this was a moment where his defensive game also shined on both kills – he was tying up sticks, blocking shots, and forcing turnovers. After successfully fending off the Reign, it was none other than Foudy who scored the overtime, game-winning goal on his 20th birthday. 

Foudy said he had never played a game on his birthday and mentioned he has never played a game that late. He joked that though his birthday was almost over, he would consider his two-point night as the celebration.

Foudy has shown tremendous growth this season. Earlier in the season he mentioned wanting to achieve a 0.5 point-per-game goal, he has far surpassed that in the playoffs with 6 points in 5 games.

“Defensively I’ve earned the trust of the coaching staff to be able to play late in games and in situations that, maybe earlier when I was a little immature, I wasn’t allowed. It’s helped me [to] grow offensively when I develop my defensive game,” Foudy revealed.

Also having a two-point night was Shane Bowers who has not played since April 16th as a healthy scratch.

“I think he was great,” Cronin said of Bowers. “He does everything right. He practices hard. He’s an unbelievable teammate, [and] does extra work in the weight room. We talked about it when we found out that Sherwood was gonna sit, and we [were] gonna put Smitty in. Burke was the guy we decided to take out to give Shane a chance. He’s a left shot, Jayson Megna and I talked about it, we put [Bowers] on his line, and it worked out well – a little serendipitous.”

Game 3:

The Eagles closed out the series sweep with a win on Sunday, and it’s a good thing they did. With the LA Kings eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a crop of eligible players from the Kings were just a transaction away from returning to Ontario as reinforcement. It didn’t happen in time for Sunday’s game and the Eagles were fortunate to see Sherwood and Englund return to the lineup after serving their suspensions.

Defenseman Dennis Gilbert, who suffered a foot injury in the final game of the regular season, is reportedly skating in practice again and expected for the division finals as well. All good news for the Eagles ahead of what will be a challenging 3rd round opponent, but we’ll get to that.

The Eagles won Game 3 by 5-2, a score they became familiar with in the Henderson series.  A theme that has emerged in the playoffs, in addition to their strong penalty kill, has been scoring which comes from every part of their lineup.

Sherwood returned to the top line with Maltsev and Kaut, and Bowers remained on the 2nd line. It was Olausson who had the night off. The speed picked up in Game 2, and some of Olausson’s newness began to show.

“He’ll pick the pace up. He’s a talented player, and we’ll review the video with him and get him ready,” Cronin explained, unconcerned. 

Sunday it was Maltsev, Matteau, MacDonald, and Megna – who had 2 goals. Earning assists were Wingerli, Englund, Middleton, MacDonald, and Sherwood. Throughout the playoffs, only 4 players have fewer than 2 points.

“Honestly, the whole team stepped up. We were rolling four lines,” Cronin said after Game 2.

One huge component in all of this is captain, Jayson Megna. He has 8 points in 5 games and fought hard even after Ontario players grabbed at his shield during the series to try and get under his skin.

“He’s got a calmness to him. He’s got a confidence to him. He’s a team-first guy. He gets another layer of toughness playing in a playoff series,” Cronin said of Megna.

The Eagles will need that team-wide effort and leadership for the next round.

What’s Next | Pacific Division Finals:

Game 1 – Monday May 23 – COL at STK, 6:30 PT

Game 2 – Tuesday May 24 – COL at STK, 6:30 PT

Game 3 – Friday May 27 – STK at COL, 7:05 MT

*Game 4 – Sunday May 29 – STK at COL, 7:05 MT

*Game 5 – Tuesday May 31 – STK at COL, 7:05 MT

The Eagles will play another best-of-five series, this time against the top-seeded Stockton Heat who finished 2nd in the league overall. The Heat received a 1st-Round bye because of their 1st-in-the-division finish and recently swept Bakersfield in the 2nd Round.

The series will begin in a week and Colorado will start on the road for the first time this postseason. The Eagles will have a chance to play the final leg of the series at home with up to 3 games as needed.

The Eagles went 3-3-2 against the Heat in the regular season. The last time Colorado saw Stockton was in a 2-1 road win on March 30th; but just before that, the Eagles suffered a tough 10-3 loss on March 19th – a game which seemed to shake Annunen’s confidence in the final stretch of the regular season.

Through the playoffs so far, Annunen has been dialed in, especially in the overtime period in Game 2. He has a 0.933 save percentage – the highest of any goaltender who has started every game.

With Sikura and Gilbert likely to return, Colorado is counting on every asset. Two unsung heroes from the regular season match-up that could make a difference this series are Ryan Wagner and Wingerli. Wingerli was their points leader in this match-up with 3 goals and 4 assists, and Wagner – who is having a career year – was just behind him with 2 goals and 4 assists.

The Eagles will have their work cut out for them in their greatest challenge yet, but it has been a record-breaking playoff run so far.

Additional Notes:

The bye for Stockton in the 1st Round is also noteworthy because the Pacific Division required this stipulation since they are the largest division at 9 teams with a 10th on the way. Most divisions have 7-8 teams. Joining the Pacific Division next season will be Seattle’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

With the new addition, the Pacific Division is likely to see changes, some of which could affect the Colorado Eagles’ alignment. Stockton is rumored to be relocating to Calgary which would round out the North Division to 8 total teams. The Pacific would still be crowded at 9 teams, so that will be the piece worth looking at as this unfolds to see if Tucson or Colorado are reassigned to a neighboring division.