On Wednesday, the Laredo Bucks traded goaltender Kyle Gajewski to the Colorado Eagles for future considerations. (Photo Credit: Melissa Guzman)

The Laredo Bucks announced today they have traded reserve goaltender Kyle Gajewski to the Colorado Eagles for future considerations.  Gajewski appeared in 13 games for Laredo, posting a 5-5-2 record, a 3.96 GAA and a .883 save percentage.  The writing appeared to be on the wall, to a certain extent, when the Bucks signed former Corpus Christi goalie Kevin Desfosses to a five-game contract on January 14th.  In the five games he played, Desfosses went 3-1, with a 2.00 G.A.A and a .948 save percentage.  On Tuesday, Desfosses signed a contract for the remainder of the season, and it was only a matter of time until the Bucks moved Gajewski.

Gajewski will join a Colorado squad that currently sits in 2nd place in the Northern Conference, with a 25-9-3 record.  The Eagles lost their number one goalie, Andrew Penner, when he was called up to the AHL.  It’s likely that Gajewski will back up current Eagles number two goalie, Mike Mole, but there’s also a possibility they will let him compete for starting time. Apparently, Eagles President and General Manager Chris Stewart has been sold on Gajewski for a while, and may want to see him between the pipes.

“We believe Kyle is a very good goalie and, in fact, this is not the first time we’ve had interest in him,” said Stewart. “We were in discussions over the summer with his agent and we’re happy to finally welcome him to Northern Colorado.”

Here is the release the Laredo Bucks put out:

***

LAREDO, TX - The Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League announced Wednesday that they have traded goaltender Kyle Gajewski to the Colorado Eagles in exchange for future considerations.

The 22-year-old Gajewski (pronounced gah-JOO-ski) appeared in 13 games for the Bucks this season posting a 5-5-2 record with a 3.96 G.A.A and a .883 sv. %. Gajewski picked up the Bucks only shutout win of the season on December 17th when he set aside all 33 shots he faced in Laredo’s 2-0 win at Corpus Christi.

Gajewski, a native of London, Ontario, stopped 30 or more shots in seven of his 13 appearances this season while giving up five or more goals five times this season.

Gajewski was an OHL All-Star in 2007-08 with Sault-Ste Marie, where he set career highs in wins (39), and goals against average (2.44), while going 39-16-4.

Last season the 22-year-old Gajewski (pronounce GA-JU-ski) split time between three teams in his rookie year in the ECHL, playing with Cincinnati, Johnstown, and Florida.

Gajewski, 5’10, 155 pounds, went a combined 12-11-2 in 29 games last season. He spent the majority of the campaign with Cincinnati, playing in 21 games with a 7-10-1 record, to go along with a 3.82 G.A.A, and a .874 sv. %. Gajewski went 1-1 with Johnstown (3.40 G.A.A, .917 sv. %), and 4-0 with Florida (2.67 G.A.A, .905 sv. %).

The London, Ontario native had a stellar four-year junior career with Sault-Ste Marie, where went a combined 114-71-31 with 12 shutouts, three in each of his four seasons.

Allen Americans goaltender Chris Whitley made 43 saves against the Colorado Eagles on Friday to help lead his team to a 5-1 victory. (Photo Credit: John O'Neill)

The CHL’s Northern Conference-leading Colorado Eagles came into town to help the Allen Americans ring in the New Year on Friday.  The Americans were dominant in their second and third period play, and handed the Eagles just their sixth regulation loss of the year, defeating them 5-1.

“The biggest thing that I was happy with was that we stuck to a plan,” said Americans head coach Dwight Mullins.  “I thought we had a lot of really good players tonight.  Chris Whitley made some key saves in the first period and that allowed us to get ourselves going a little bit.”

The first period was highlighted by the strong play of Americans’ goalie Chris Whitley in net.  Being called upon to make repetitive saves, often in quick succession, the Allen netminder kept his team in the game while the offense wasn’t able to get setup in the Colorado zone.  Whitley faced a total of 18 shots in the period, and kept them all out.

“Colorado’s got a high offensive team, so I know they’re gonna (take) a lot of shots.”  Whitley said.  “Pretty much as soon as they get over the blue line, they’re gonna let it go.  Fortunately for us, they took a lot of those shots from the outside.  I gave up a couple of bad rebounds that I’d like to have back.  Fortunately enough it was still 0-0 at the end (of the period).  It was a good start for us.”

The Americans got on the board early in the second period.  Bruce Graham put a tumbling puck on net that hit Eagles goalie Andrew Penner, but then Penner seemed to lose.  The puck trickled towards the goal line, and forward Nino Musitelli reached his stick out to poke it into the net for the 1-0 lead.

The Eagles tied the game just a couple of minutes later, after a short powerplay allowed them to establish their offense in the Americans’ zone.  Aaron Schneekloth took a slapshot from near the blue line that sizzled low to the ice, and beat Whitley five-hole.

Despite giving up the tying goal, the Americans really seemed to be the dominant team of the period.  They quickly re-captured the lead thanks to some strong offensive pressure from Justin Bowers and Nino Musitelli; Americans captain Jarret Lukin was able to get free in front of the net, and roofed a backhander top-shelf to put Allen up 2-1. Then, Ryan Fairbarn extended that lead to two when he punched in a rebound from a Bruce Graham shot.

The Eagles had some chances in the third period, but Whitley continued his strong performance and was there when Colorado got their chances.  Allen was pretty clearly the better team in the second and third periods, and goals from Colton Yellow Horn and Nathan O’Nabigon iced the victory for the Americans.  It also underscored exactly what kind of win this was for the Americans.  They seems to get help from every line, and every player.  In fact, every line that Allen put on the ice had at least one player with a point, and four players had a mutiple-point game.

“If I look at one of the keys tonight, I think it was the supporting cast,” Mullins said.  “I think we got some really good use out of Nathan O’Nabigon, Billy Loupee and Colton Yellow Horn – those kind of players really stepped up.”

The Colorado Eagles sent defenseman Erik Adams to the Allen Americans for future considerations on Tuesday. (photo credit: Thomas Miller/Colorado Eagles)

The Allen Americans continued to add to their roster on Tuesday, acquiring Colorado Eagles defenseman Erik Adams in exchange for future considerations.  The experienced skater will bring some needed offensive punch from the blue line.  Last season, Adams tallied 38 assists in 64 games.  He should be a great compliment to the larger, physical defensemen that Allen has signed in the past few weeks.  Here’s the official release from the Americans:

ALLEN, TX – The Allen Americans announced today that they have acquired veteran defenseman Erik Adams from the Colorado Eagles in exchange for future considerations.

Adams, 29, comes off his eighth professional season and fourth with the 2009 Ray Miron President’s Cup Finalist Eagles. The 6-foot, 205-pound defender posted 38 assists and 66 penalty minutes in 64 games last season and had two 5-game point streaks.

“Erik brings a solid veteran presence to our defense. He will be a key component to the success of the club,” Americans Head Coach and General Manager Dwight Mullins said Tuesday.

After graduating from Denver University in 2002, Adams began his professional career in the ECHL. Following the 2002-03 season, he signed with the New Mexico Scorpions in 2003. Adams went to Colorado in 2005.

The Thunder Bay, Ontario, native is a well-rounded defenseman known for hard hits in his own end of the ice while also contributing offensively. “He’s very versatile and can play in all situations,” Mullins said.

Adams is looking forward to being a member of the new CHL team. “In talking with the coaching staff, the organization sounds first class. Also, there’s a lot of hype and excitement about the club in the [Dallas/Ft. Worth] area.”

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas (May 5)-The Brahmas motto for their playoff run this season is “One Goal”, and now they are in position for one win to win the CHL Championship tomorrow night as they defeated the Colorado Eagles 6-3 in Game Four of the CHL Finals Tuesday night. Brahmas leading scorer in the postseason found himself in the penalty box early in the game, giving the first ranked Eagle’s powerplay an opportunity for the first goal of the night. Colorado buzzed around Brahmas netminder Brett Jaeger’s crease until Konrad Reeder’s shot found the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. As the game continued the teams skated intensely when with four minutes remaining in the period the Eagles were to be penalized; but before Colorado could find possession defenseman Kevin McLeod put a screaming shot past Andrew Penner from the point for his third of the postseason. The Eagles regained the lead when Ed McGrane scored his team leading eleventh goal of the playoffs on the powerplay. Down but not out, the Brahmas gained momentum from the sold out crowd at the NYTEX Sports Centre and a shot on Penner from the blueline by Brahmas veteran defenseman Mike Vellinga was evidence of a turning point for Texas when it slowly trickled across the goal line for his first of the playoffs.  It was a scoring barrage by the Brahmas from there as Jason Deitsch took a pass from Brandon Benedict and Scott Sheppard for Texas’ first lead of the evening. Texas tough guy, Greg McConnell was able to get in on the scoring as he lit the lamp 1:34 minutes after the Deitsch goal. With one minute remaining the Brahmas were able to get their first powerplay goal of the game when Deitsch’s shot went up and over Penner for the 5-2 lead. Colorado geared for a comeback in the final period when McGrane notched his second of the night, but McLeod and his teammates were not ready to sit back when McLeod tallied his second in the game on a powerplay. The Brahmas are now 6-0 in the playoffs when outshooting the opponent as they had 43 to the Eagles 25. Game Five of the Ray Miron President’s Cup Finals will be played tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 7:05 PM at the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills.