- Colorado Eagles
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Colorado Eagles 2010–11 Colorado Eagles season City Loveland, Colorado League ECHL Conference Western Division Mountain Founded 2003 Home arena Budweiser Events Center Colors Black, Gold, Red, Blue Owner(s) Colorado Eagles Professional Hockey LLC General manager Chris Stewart Head coach Chris Stewart Media The Coloradoan
Loveland Reporter-HeraldAffiliates Winnipeg Jets(NHL)
St. John's IceCaps(AHL)Franchise history 2003–2011 Colorado Eagles (CHL) 2011–present Colorado Eagles (ECHL) Championships Regular season titles 3 (2005, 2006, 2009) Division Championships 6 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) Conference Championships 5 (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011) Ray Miron President's Cup 2 (2005, 2007) The Colorado Eagles are a professional ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference,[1] where they serve as the "Double-A" affiliate of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps [2]. The Eagles were founded as an expansion franchise in 2003 in the Central Hockey League and remained in the league until June 2011. During their time in the CHL, the Eagles won two Ray Miron President's Cups, three regular season titles, five conference titles and six division titles in eight seasons. The Eagles play at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland and serves the Fort Collins-Loveland metropolitan area.
Contents
Franchise history
Central Hockey League era (2003–2011)
The franchise was founded in 2003 by former Montreal Canadiens player Ralph Backstrom.[3] The Eagles advanced to the playoffs in their first season and won the CHL championship in their second season, 2004–05. They won their division in 2005–06, but lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, after having defeated the Oklahoma City Blazers in the first round. They would again win the CHL Championship in 2006–07, defeating the Laredo Bucks four games to two in the Cup Finals.
After the 2007–08 season, coach Chris Stewart retired, and Kevin McClelland was named as his replacement. Following the 2009–10 season, McClelland was not retained and Stewart - who had been working as team President and GM since leaving the bench - resumed head coaching duties. Stewart is currently President, GM and Head Coach.
During the 2008–09 season, the Eagles hosted the 2009 CHL All-Star Game and took on a group of CHL All-Stars from various teams. The exhibition took place on January 14, 2009 at the Budweiser Events Center, with the Eagles defeating the CHL All-Stars, 8-4.
Move to ECHL (2011–present)
During the 2011 Ray Miron President's Cup playoffs, the Eagles had been rumored to be transferring to the ECHL following the completion of the playoffs.[4][5] Former International Hockey League commissioner Dennis Hextall has stated that he had heard that the Colorado Eagles may already be included in the ECHL's tentative schedule for the 2011–12 season.[6]
On May 29, 2011, KEVN in Rapid City, South Dakota reported that Colorado was to move to the ECHL in time for the 2011–12 season.[7] The following day, the team announced that they would have a press conference on May 31 at the Budweiser Events Center and that local media were urged to attend and fans urged to listen to the press conference online or on a local radio station.[8] At the press conference, Head Coach, General Manager and President Chris Stewart announced that the team had been accepted as an expansion franchise in the ECHL for the 2011–12 season.
In August 2011, the Eagles were assigned to the Western Conference's Mountain Division as part of the league realignment for the 2011–12 ECHL season.[1]
Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Overtime/shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Records as of end of the 2010–11 Central Hockey League season.[9]
Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs 2003–04 64 43 16 5 91 232 156 1453 1st, Northwest Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–3 (Wichita) 2004–05 60 43 10 7 93 221 123 1345 1st, Northwest Ray Miron President's Cup Champions, 4–1 (Laredo) 2005–06 64 44 14 6 94 241 183 1898 1st, Northwest Lost in Conference Finals, 1–4 (Bossier-Shreveport) 2006–07 64 46 17 1 93 256 182 1944 1st, Northwest Ray Miron President's Cup Champions, 4–2 (Laredo) 2007–08 64 37 20 7 81 254 223 1637 1st, Northwest Lost in Ray Miron President's Cup Finals, 0–4 (Arizona) 2008–09 64 45 15 4 94 275 195 1429 1st, Northwest Lost in Ray Miron President's Cup Finals, 1–4 (Texas) 2009–10 64 42 15 7 91 277 208 1557 2nd, Northern Lost in Conference Semifinals, 0–4 (Bossier-Shreveport) 2010–11 66 40 22 4 84 250 199 1352 2nd, Turner Lost in Ray Miron President's Cup Finals, 3–4 (Bossier-Shreveport) Players
Current roster
Updated November 6, 2011.[10]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract 78 Akim Aliu RW R 22 2011 Okene, Nigeria Jets 35 Chris Carrozzi G R 21 2011 Nepean, Ontario Jets 67 Adam Chorneyko LW L 23 2010 St. Albert, Alberta Eagles 21 Jack Combs RW L 23 2011 St. Louis, Missouri Eagles 13 Chad Costello F R 25 2011 Johnston, Iowa Eagles 7 Michael Forney F R 23 2011 Thief River Falls, Minnesota Jets 10 Steve Haddon LW L 27 2006 Sarnia, Ontario Eagles 28 A.J. Hau F L 25 2010 Fort Collins, Colorado Eagles 29 Kyle Jones G L 28 2010 North Delta, British Columbia Eagles 16 Anthony Maiani C L 22 2011 Shelby Township, Michigan Eagles 44 Tommy Maxwell RW R 25 2011 Spokane, Washington IceCaps 12 Riley Nelson (C) C L 34 2003 Cranbrook, British Columbia Eagles 32 Alex Penner LW L 25 2011 Simcoe, Ontario Eagles 5 Kyle Peto D L 29 2010 Lethbridge, Alberta Eagles 23 Aaron Schneekloth (A) D L 33 2006 Calgary, Alberta Eagles Retired numbers
- 89: Greg Pankewicz, RW, 2003–09
Awards and honors
Ray Miron President's Cup
CHL playoff champion- 2004–05, 2006–07
Bud Poile Governors' Cup
CHL regular season champion- 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
Conference playoff championship
- 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
Division titles
- 2003–05, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
References
- ^ a b Press release (August 1, 2011). "Annual ECHL Board of Governors meeting concludes". ECHL. http://echl.com/annual-echl-board-of-governors-meeting-concludes-p172058. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
- ^ http://www.coloradoeagles.com/news.php?nid=1028
- ^ Scott, Jon C. (2006). Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.. p. 163. ISBN 1894974212.
- ^ Sandalow, Brian (April 30, 2011). "Icy future awaiting Bees?". The Monitor. http://www.themonitor.com/sports/icy-49821-awaits-bees.html. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ Cohn, Justin A. (May 6, 2011). "Lots of excitement". The Journal Gazette. http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110506/BLOGS11/110509639. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ DeVrieze, Craig (April 29, 2011). "Change rumors swirl in the CHL". Quad-City Times. http://qctimes.com/sports/hockey/professional/minor/article_1c52f030-7221-11e0-9887-001cc4c03286.html. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ Coppock, Cory (May 29, 2011). "Colorado Eagles moving to ECHL". KEVN-TV. http://www.blackhillsfox.com/2011/05/29/Colorado-Eagles-moving-to-ECHL. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- ^ Press release (May 30, 2011). "Eagles schedule new conference for Tuesday". The Coloradoan. http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20110530/UPDATES02/110530012/Eagles-schedule-news-conference-Monday?odyssey=tab. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- ^ Hockeydb.com, Colorado Eagles season statistics and records.
- ^ "Colorado Eagles Roster". http://echl.com/stats/roster.php?step=&sub=&season_id=22&team_id=56. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
External links
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