Weekend Preview - Northern Colorado Eagles

The Utah Outliers are set to play their first home series of the season by playing host to the Northern Colorado Eagles. The three-game series will be a good test for the Outliers as they look to rebound from last weekend's disappointing series against the Pueblo Bulls.

When asked if he thought his team was ready for this weekend's challenge, Head Coach, Paul Taylor said, “We're excited about [our first home weekend], We've been practicing hard this past week and watching film on how we can improve some areas of our game. Playing against a competitive opponent like Northern Colorado will be a good test for our group."

The Outliers look to continue having a strong first period where the team scored six of its seven goals last weekend. The fast start was something the team was able to sustain each game but holding the lead was another conversation altogether. 

Assistant Coach Eric Verdi had this to say, "I really liked our start to each game but it seemed like that early success hurt us a bit because each time we jumped out to a 2-0 lead we became complacent and stopped doing the things that were making us successful to begin with." 

Although the Outliers didn't score as many goals as they hoped in their first three games, the team did generate a lot of grade-A chances. If the club can continue to generate that type of offense, the scoring should soon follow. 

The Outliers are currently led in scoring by Alex Charin and Dawson Armstrong. Ricky Bredberg has also scored a goal and set up some nice plays for his team. The club will be looking for some of its other members to add scoring depth and find the net against the Eagles.

Goaltenders, Cam Barber, and Collin Soderholm saw action last weekend for the team and will be expected to be leaned on in the coming games this weekend. 

The Northern Colorado Eagles come into this weekend's action holding a record of four wins and two losses. The team is led in scoring by Brennan McFarland, Nicolas Samson, and Case Kantgias. In goal, the Eagles have seen strong play from both Riley Tucker and Ulrick Roussel. 

“It’s going to be a tough, competitive weekend for our team but I expect us to bounce back and play a more consistent game against the Eagles. We have to do a better job of managing the puck and making our shots count, stated Head Coach Taylor.

On another quick note, the Outliers named Josh Harrell as the team's Captain, and Assistant Captain duties will be shared between Dawson Armstrong, Logan Johnson, Alex Charin, and Trent Gephart. 

This weekend's games will be played at the Maverik Center in West Valley. Game times are as follows: Friday 7:30 PM, Saturday 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 2:00 PM. 

Fans can catch all the Outliers games streamed live on Hockeytv.