2008 Woodie Awards
Eagles return for fifth season and next championship
Mitchell Woll
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Sports
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"Eagles Strike Back," was last season's slogan for the Colorado Eagles.
After failing to win back-to-back Central Hockey League Championships in the 2005-06 season, they won last year's President's Cup against the Laredo Bucks. Certainly, the Eagles struck back.
This season, the Eagles return for their fifth year with slightly different colors, jerseys and logo. Colorado's roster has also been slightly refined, including old favorite players and a few new acquisitions.
Expect to see right wing veteran Greg Pankewicz back on the ice. Last season, Pankewicz scored his 1,000th career point with a hat-trick against the Rocky Mountain Rage and he tallied points in every single game last season, except for two.
The CHL's Man of the Year, center Riley Nelson, will also be back. Nelson was a 2007 All-Star and last season he was the first Eagles player to reach 300 plus points with the team. Center Ed McGrane will accompany Nelson, coming off a year when he ranked second in goals with 31.
Eagles defenseman Aaron Schneekloth is back on the blue line and goalie Marco Emond has returned between the pipes. Schneekloth set his career high 46 points, including 35 assists, last year and Emond finished as one of the CHL's finalist for Goaltender of the Year.
Goalie Paulo Colaiacovo re-signed with the Eagles this year. Colaiacovo joined the team halfway through last season, but is the Eagles' winningest goaltender and could compete to start.
During the off-season, the Eagles acquired forward Dave Iannazzo. Last year, with the Cardiff Devils in Wales, the Minnesota native scored 57 points in 67 games, showing true potential for the Eagles. As a leader for that team, Iannazzo should bring more scoring power to the already stacked Colorado forward lines.
The Eagles also beefed up their defense. Colorado signed defensemen Erik Adams, Jay Birnie and Tyson Terry. Adams, Birnie and Terry are tough defensemen - Adams measuring 6-foot, 205 pounds, while Birnie measures 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. Terry racked up 191 penalty minutes as a rookie with the British Columbia Hockey League's Chilliwack Cheifs in the 2000-01 season. These defensemen should prove to be the Eagles' new enforcers, who will punish opponents' offensive lines.
Colorado also signed defenseman Jonathan Lounsbury, who is a more offensive defenseman and won the Southern Professional Hockey League defensemen scoring championship last year with four goals and 44 assists.
Not only has Colorado bolstered its scoring ability, but has greatly reinforced its protection of the net. The Eagles were a controlling force in the CHL last season and now they've retuned and are more dominant than ever.
In the hockey team's four previous years in Colorado, they've won two championships. No other Colorado sports team can compare. Anticipate another championship for Colorado in the Eagles' fifth season.
-Mitchell Woll is a sophomore journalism major and the Mirror's sports editor.
After failing to win back-to-back Central Hockey League Championships in the 2005-06 season, they won last year's President's Cup against the Laredo Bucks. Certainly, the Eagles struck back.
This season, the Eagles return for their fifth year with slightly different colors, jerseys and logo. Colorado's roster has also been slightly refined, including old favorite players and a few new acquisitions.
Expect to see right wing veteran Greg Pankewicz back on the ice. Last season, Pankewicz scored his 1,000th career point with a hat-trick against the Rocky Mountain Rage and he tallied points in every single game last season, except for two.
The CHL's Man of the Year, center Riley Nelson, will also be back. Nelson was a 2007 All-Star and last season he was the first Eagles player to reach 300 plus points with the team. Center Ed McGrane will accompany Nelson, coming off a year when he ranked second in goals with 31.
Eagles defenseman Aaron Schneekloth is back on the blue line and goalie Marco Emond has returned between the pipes. Schneekloth set his career high 46 points, including 35 assists, last year and Emond finished as one of the CHL's finalist for Goaltender of the Year.
Goalie Paulo Colaiacovo re-signed with the Eagles this year. Colaiacovo joined the team halfway through last season, but is the Eagles' winningest goaltender and could compete to start.
During the off-season, the Eagles acquired forward Dave Iannazzo. Last year, with the Cardiff Devils in Wales, the Minnesota native scored 57 points in 67 games, showing true potential for the Eagles. As a leader for that team, Iannazzo should bring more scoring power to the already stacked Colorado forward lines.
The Eagles also beefed up their defense. Colorado signed defensemen Erik Adams, Jay Birnie and Tyson Terry. Adams, Birnie and Terry are tough defensemen - Adams measuring 6-foot, 205 pounds, while Birnie measures 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. Terry racked up 191 penalty minutes as a rookie with the British Columbia Hockey League's Chilliwack Cheifs in the 2000-01 season. These defensemen should prove to be the Eagles' new enforcers, who will punish opponents' offensive lines.
Colorado also signed defenseman Jonathan Lounsbury, who is a more offensive defenseman and won the Southern Professional Hockey League defensemen scoring championship last year with four goals and 44 assists.
Not only has Colorado bolstered its scoring ability, but has greatly reinforced its protection of the net. The Eagles were a controlling force in the CHL last season and now they've retuned and are more dominant than ever.
In the hockey team's four previous years in Colorado, they've won two championships. No other Colorado sports team can compare. Anticipate another championship for Colorado in the Eagles' fifth season.
-Mitchell Woll is a sophomore journalism major and the Mirror's sports editor.
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