If North American hockey had a relegation system like British soccer — with league-winning teams moving up to a better division each year while bottom-dwelling teams drop to a lower level — the Colorado Eagles long ago would have jumped up.
The Eagles twice won a Central Hockey League championship in an eight-year span and were routinely one of the best teams in the league.
This year, by choice, they jumped to the tougher ECHL, a Double-A division that spans the U.S. coast-to-coast. Colorado hardly lost a step.
The Eagles return to Loveland this weekend for their first ECHL home playoff game against the Stockton Thunder. It’s a must-win scenario for Colorado. Trailing 2-0 in a best-of-five series, the Eagles face off at 7 p.m. tonight at the Budweiser Events Center.
“There’s a lot of things we need to do better,” Colorado coach Chris Stewart told the Stockton Record after Game 1.
What the Eagles need to do is solve Stockton goaltender Olivier Roy, a 2009 fifth-round draft choice of the Edmonton Oilers who helped the Canadian junior national team win a silver medal at the world championships last year.
In the series opener, Roy — who’s not related to Patrick Roy — recorded 35 saves and allowed only a goal late in the game en route to a 3-1 victory.
In Game 2, Roy let in two early scores — on a Joey Sides wraparound and a Teegan Moore tally for Colorado — before stonewalling the Eagles the rest of the way to win 3-2 in overtime.
Colorado, which finished the regular season in second place in the Mountain Division, earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. But the Eagles lost league-leading scorer Chad Costello to a knee injury last month. Stockton is the fifth seed.
Now, Colorado relies on forward Kevin Ulanski for scoring punch and ECHL defensive player of the year Aaron Schneekloth.
Wednesday’s Game 2 was decided in overtime, as Stocktoin’s Chris D’Alvise scored 17 seconds into the extra period.
“You have to learn how to win these types of games in the playoffs,” Thunder coach Matt Thomas told the Stockton Record. “The first one was tough to get, and I think (Game 2) one was even tougher. And the next one will be even harder.”
ECHL Playoffs
Colorado Eagles vs. Stockton Thunder
Thunder leads 2-0 in best-of-five series
Game 1: Stockton 3, Colorado 1
Game 2: Stockton 3, Colorado 2, OT
Game 3: Stockton at Colorado, tonight, 7 p.m., at Budweiser Events Center in Loveland
Game 4: Stockton at Colorado, Saturday, 7 p.m., if necessary
Game 5: Stockton at Colorado, Monday, 7 p.m., if necessary
