In cruising to a No. 2 seed in the Central Hockey League playoffs, the Colorado Eagles this season finished with the second-most goals, and the second-best road record, the second-best home record and the second-best overall mark.
What the minor-league mainstays hope — beginning with Game 1 of a first-round series tonight in Loveland against the Quad City Mallards — is to finish out of character, somewhere north of second best.
“I really think some of the best hockey of the season is played in that first round,” Colorado coach Chris Stewart told Adam Dunivan in the Loveland Reporter-Herald this week. “You generally see everyone fresh at that point and geared up for that possible playoff run. The slate is clean for everyone.”
The Eagles, since stepping into the CHL in 2003, have two league championships and four conference titles. But they lost twice in the championship round, in 2008-09, and were upset in the conference semifinals last season.
So Colorado brought back Stewart — the team’s first coach (2003-04), who won titles in 2005 and 2007 before moving to the front office in ’08. Stewart worked as coach, general manager and president this season.
Also this season, Eagles captain Riley Nelson was named CHL MVP after earning all-league honors the previous three seasons. The veteran is Colorado’s all-time leading scorer. But the Eagles had a league MVP last season in former University of Denver standout Kevin Ulan- ski, then the CHL’s leading scorer, before falling short in the playoffs.
So a first-round matchup with the Mallards — of Moline, Ill. — should hardly be taken lightly. Colorado is 1-2 against the Mallards this season, though each game was played at Quad City.
“We are up against a very good hockey team,” Stewart said. “They’re a team that prefers to get ahead and stay ahead.”
CHL playoffs
Colorado Eagles vs. Quad City Mallards
First round (best-of-five)
Today: Mallards at Eagles, 7 p.m.
Sat.: Mallards at Eagles, 7 p.m.
Tues.: Eagles at Mallards, 6 p.m.
Wed.: Eagles at Mallards, 6 p.m.*
April 9: Mallards at Eagles, 7 p.m.*
* if necessary
AROUND TOWN
Mammoth looking to finish strong.
Before an exciting, and rather impressive, overtime victory over the Boston Blazers in Denver last week, the Colorado Mammoth had nearly let the National Lacrosse League season get out of hand.
The Mammoth lost seven consecutive games, skidding from January into March to take up last place in the West Division.
But all is not lost. Cliche or not, it’s not important how a team starts the NLL season, it’s how it finishes. With six games left before the playoffs, the Mammoth remains in contention.
Colorado (2-8) can rebound starting this weekend with a home-and-home series against the Edmonton Rush (3-9). The teams play in Canada tonight at 7 p.m. (no TV), then in Denver on Saturday at 7 p.m. (ALT).
The top four teams in the West qualify for the playoffs, leaving one team out. Consider Colorado and Edmonton in a sprint the rest of the way for the final seed.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Rockies open on “Root” channel.
Fear not, you loyal TV-guide readers. Don’t fret your cable-menu eyes. The “Root” channel is here, but it requires no extra work.
The Rockies open their season today at Coors Field with a weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Television coverage, of course, also starts today — but with a noticeable change.
As Dusty Saunders spelled out in Monday’s Denver Post, the former FSN Rocky Mountain channel is now calling itself Root Sports. Everything’s the same, except the name and logo. It’s simply a rebranding.
You can find Root and its Rockies games on the same number on your cable system as last season (Comcast 26 and 665; DirecTV 683; DISH 414).
The Rockies and D-backs play at 2:10 p.m. today, 6:10 p.m. Saturday and 1:10 p.m. Sunday.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Running the Redline.
Unique to precious few places in this country, the urban trail stands out in Colorado perhaps more than anywhere else.
Celebrate one of those trails Saturday for the Redline 13.1 half-marathon in Westminster. The trail race runs across the Big Dry Creek Trail, out and back, over spacious dirt trails that expertly avoid traffic.
The race starts at 8 a.m. near Lower Church Lake and loops around Big Dry Creek Park and back. Check for details.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Rapids play a physical game.
The Rapids’ quick start to the 2011 season — they’re one of just three remaining undefeated teams in MLS — might owe to some strong-arming.
The Rapids are the most aggressive team in the league, leading MLS with seven yellow cards. Discipline aside, Colorado has been stout on the back line, allowing just one goal in two games (excluding a U.S. Open Cup play-in game Wednesday with mostly backups in the lineup).
That aggressiveness will be key in the coming days, one of the busiest stretches of the season for the Rapids. Including Wednesday’s Cup game, Colorado (2-0-0) will play four games in two weeks.
The stretch continues Sunday at DSG Park in Commerce City against Charlie Davies and D.C. United (1-1-0). The Rapids then travel to face FC Dallas (April 8) and Real Salt Lake (April 13).
