When under the gun, ’Hounds win shootout

By Tom Williams

For the third time in three games against Youngstown, Colorado couldn’t hold a late lead.

YOUNGSTOWN — Unaccustomed to being on the brink of elimination before the postseason even begins, the Colorado Eagles responded with the grit that has made them Central Hockey League champions two of the past three seasons.

And it was barely enough against the team that is quickly becoming the star of the Eagles’ worst nightmares.

For the third time in three games against the Youngstown SteelHounds, the Eagles couldn’t hold a late lead,

With goalie Andy Franck pulled, Ryan Bennett netted his second goal of the game (and sixth in four days) with 43 seconds remaining in regulation.

Then in the shootout after the scoreless overtime, Jason Baird and Chris Richards beatEagles netminder Sebastien Laplante while Franck stopped four of the Eagles’ five penalty shots to give the SteelHounds a thrilling 3-2 win in the Central Hockey League regular-season finale Saturday at the Chevrolet Centre.

“Unbelieveable,” said SteelHounds coach Kevin Kaminski after his team swept the Eagles and finished 5-1 down the stretch after last weekend’s series with Laredo (CHL runners-up last spring). “What a great ending to the final game, phenomenal.

“The work ethic [we have], the passion, the desire — it’s just great to see,” Kaminski said. “I’m just thrilled. Playing against a championship team and to get three [wins] is huge.”

The point Colorado earned for the regulation tie makes them the Northwest Division champions and gives them the second seed in the Northern Conference bracket.

Guess who used the shootout triumph to move up to third?

After a few days off, the Eagles (37-20-7, 81 points) and SteelHounds (39-20-5, 83 points) will resume their war with a best-of-seven series that opens with two games in Loveland, Colo. Because the Eagles won their division while the SteelHounds finished second to top-seed Bossier-Shreveport, Colorado gets home-ice advantage in the series.

Even though the Eagles entered the finale against the SteelHounds as the Northwest Division leaders, a regulation loss plus a Rocky Mountain Rage win over Bossier-Shreveport would have knocked the defending champs to sixth place in the Northern Conference.

Only five conference teams qualify for the playoffs,

Second-period power-play goals by Scott Polanksi and Ryan Tobler had them rolling.

But just as the SteelHounds overcame deficits on Wednesday and Friday against the Eagles, they did it again Saturday, with Bennett getting both goals.

After the game ended, the SteelHounds, the SteelHounds held off on their locker-room celebration until the Texas loss at Austin was confirmed.

After a scoreless first period that saw the SteelHounds with a 9-6 edge in shots, the Eagles struck twice with power-play goals.

First, Ed McGrane skated down left wing into the SteelHounds’ zone then sent a cross-ice pass to Tobler. Tobler drew Franck’s attention then tapped the puck to Polaski in the slot for a tap-in goal.

With aboutsix minutes remaining in the second period, the Eagles connected again with the man-advantage. Tobler got the goal with assists from Greg Pankewicz and Riley Nelson for the 2-0 lead.

But early in the third period, the SteelHounds ended Laplante’s shutout bid when Richards backhanded the puck to Bennett in the slot and his deflection went into the net to reduce the Eagles’ lead to 2-1.

williams@vindy.com