Golden  Eagles 8 - Bombers 5
February 24, 2002 - The Golden Eagles won the series versus the third place Bay City Bombers by winning the rubber match 8-5. It was a good all around effort by the Eagles who appear to be pulling out of a prolonged slump with Dave Spice at the helm. Peterson, with four goals and the line of Kegley, Anderson and Megeath were the big scorers for the Eagles in Sunday's game.

Mike Hill made the most of his start in goal and was solid throughout the game. 

Golden  Eagles 7 - Bombers 4
February 23, 2002 - We finally saw flashes of the Golden Eagles who were a dominant force in the early part of the season. The work ethic was much improved over last night's effort and enabled the Eagles to show their offensive prowess and come away with a 7-4 victory. 

The Eagles had a slow start again and gave up an early 1-0 lead. Then they picked up the effort and neutralized the Bombers for the rest of the period. In the second period, the Eagles tied the score on a nice powerplay goal by Dylan Feldt on a lovely back door pass from Chris Reesor. The Bombers answered that goal to take a 2-1 lead. Then Jake Anderson blocked a shot from the Bomber defenseman and broke in alone on the goalie. He made no mistake deking the goalie and scoring on his backhand. The Eagles took the lead two minutes later when Peterson head manned a pass to Chris Reesor who overcame an attempted check and broke in alone. Reesor snapped a forehand shot over the goalie's glove for a 3-2 Eagles lead. Before the period ended, the Bombers tied the game at 3-3 when the Eagles failed to clear the front of the net for Talatinick.

Good luck follows good effort. In the third period, Ty Cebuhar took a 140 foot slapshot (that's from well inside his own blue line). Somehow it caught the Bomber's goal napping and went in. Less than two minutes later, Peter Mossberg came down the left side of the ice and let a weak shot go from the face-off circle. It somehow eluded the Bomber goalie, and the Eagles had their first 2 goal lead in the game. The Bombers popped in a powerplay goal midway through the period before the Eagles tallied the final goals of the game. The sixth goal came on the powerplay when Reesor made another nice back door pass to Clark McNees who made no mistake of it. The final goal came on a breakaway by Patrick Obester who came off the bench at the end of an Eagles penalty kill. The perfectly executed pass from Mossberg sent Obester in alone.

Talatinick went all the way in goal for the Eagles. Adam was solid stopping 31 of the 35 shots he faced.

Golden  Eagles 2 - Bombers 5
February 22, 2002 - The Eagles got outworked, outplayed and outscored on Friday night. The predictable result was another loss - this time by a 5-2 count to the Bay City Bombers. The Eagles were listless in the first period, getting outshot 18-9 and outscored 3-0. After giving up another goal early in the second period, the Eagles finally showed a short-lived spurt of effort which resulted in a pair of goals - a powerplay effort by Chris Reesor, from Peterson and Kaiser, and an even strength goal by Matt Grasseschi when he re-directed a weak shot by Kephart that fooled the Bombers goalie. The 4-2 score at the end of the second gave the Eagles hope for the third. Unfortunately, the Eagles reverted back to their sub-par effort and surrendered the only goal of the period for a 5-2 final score. They were outshot 17-8 in the third.

Essig went all the way in goal, stopping 43 of the 48 shots he faced. 

Golden  Eagles 3 - San Diego 6
February 3, 2002 - The same poor effort. The same poor result. San Diego outworked,outshot and outscored the Eagles again. For some reason, the Eagles are not playing with the drive that made them a premier team in the country before Christmas. Hopefully they'll resurrect the love for the game before the season ends in Bay City.

Golden  Eagles 2 - San Diego 8
February 2, 2002 - The Eagles couldn't do it two games in a row. For the second straight night, the Eagles got outplayed by San Diego. But this time they got burned and beaten 8-2. It was close for the first ten minutes, then the Surf scored 3 straight goals on their powerplay and added another goal with 3 seconds left in the period to take a 4-1 lead at the end of one period. The Surf outscored the Eagles 4-1 in the second period as well to take an 8-2 lead into the dressing room after two periods. The Eagles finally played some spirited hockey in the third period, resulting in a scoreless period. Both Eagles goals were scored by Patrick Obester.

The Eagles were without the services of Eric Allan, Jeff Reesor, Chris Kaiser and Jared Dielwart, due to injuries. The team missed their contribution. Adam Tilatinick started the game in goal and played the first period surrendering 4 goals. Brian Essig went the rest of the way, giving up the final 4 goals. The rubber match will be interesting to see which Eagles team shows up. It's a proud team. I'd put my money on the boys from Utah Valley.

Golden  Eagles 6 - San Diego 3
February 1, 2002 - The sign of a great team is when you can play poorly against a good team and still find a way to win. That's what happened to the Eagles on Friday night. They were outhustled, outhit, outshot and outplayed, but still managed a 6-3 win. Pete Mossberg showed "won't lose" determination as he knocked in the hat trick. Brian Essig stopped 36 of 39 shots in another key effort. Brad Peterson, Matt Grasseschi and Derek Porter were the other goal scorers.

The first period was a listless affair. Nevada scored an early goal off a bad Eagles pinch that turned into a two on one. In the second period, the Eagles had a great spurt of effort, scoring three unanswered goals and taking a 3-1 lead. Then they quickly surrendered a sloppy goal to end the period with a 3-2 lead. The Eagles went ahead 4-2 early in the third period, surrendered a short-handed goal at the mid-way point, then added two unanswered goals late in the game for the hard fought 6-3 victory.

Golden  Eagles 8 - Nevada 7 (Overtime)
January 26, 2002 - It was a gutsy come-from-behind victory for the Golden Eagles on Sunday morning. It seems a number of the Eagles were a little too overconfident with their earlier victories and felt they didn't need to adhere to the team's curfew. As a result, 6 Eagles were suspended from play on Sunday and another 4 of them slept in and missed the bus to the game and didn't arrive until the Sunday game was underway. As a result, the Eagles dressed 9 forwards, 4 defensemen and 2 goalies - the smallest roster the Eagles have ever dressed for a game. Playing more on heart than energy, the Eagles mustered up the pride to win, when they had a good excuse to lose, and overcame a 7-6 deficit with six minutes remaining in the game, to win 8-7 in overtime.

The Eagles played well in the first period as they went out to a 4-2 lead despite some very questionable officiating. In the second period, the penalty brigade went into full operation as the Eagles were penalized for 12 minutes and the Rattlers for none. This wore down the short-handed Eagles who seemed to run out of steam. Three powerplay goals later (two with two-man advantages) the Rattlers tied the game then surged into a 1 goal lead with just twenty-one seconds remaining in the second period. Although the Eagles added two second period goals, the Rattlers tallied 5 for the 7-6 lead.

The Eagles were dead tired going into the third period. Solid goaltending at both ends kept the scoring at bay until Ryan Kephart blasted a shot past the Rattlers goalie, off a "sleeper-play" face-off to tie the score. Porter executed the face-off perfectly to set up Kephart. Despite a flurry of opportunities in the last five minutes, the Eagles could not score the winner. In the five minute sudden-death overtime, the Eagles continued to apply the pressure and finally secured the victory when Pete Mossberg converted a pass from Pat Obester and scored a relief-ladened goal. 

The other Eagles point getters were Jake Anderson (2 goals), Kephart (2 goals and 1 assist), Joe Carbone, Pat Obester (1 goal and 1 assist), Kris Megeath, Derek Porter (2 assists), Chris Kaiser and Dylan Feldt (1 assist each) and Mossberg chipped in an assist to go with his game winning goal. Brian Essig overcame his cold/flu to play the entire third game in goal. He was outstanding in the third period and overtime in shutting out the Rattlers. Overall he made 35 of 42 saves in the game.

Golden  Eagles 13 - Nevada 0 
January 25, 2002 - It was another solid effort by the Golden Eagles on Saturday night with Utah Valley dominating the Nevada Rattlers by a 13-0 count. The Eagles jumped out to a 7-0 first period lead, added 2 more in the second then coasted home with 4 third period markers.

Adam Talatinick played excellently blanking the Rattlers on all 20 of their shots on goal. The goal scoring was spread around with all four lines contributing to the offensive output. Dylan Feldt scored a goal and 4 assists (although he actually should have been credited for 6 assists) for a 5 point game. Joe Carbone (2 goals), Clark McNees (2 goals and 1 assist), Kephart (2 goals and 1 assist), Pete Mehdisedeh, Chris Kaiser, Brad Peterson (1 goal and 2 assists), Pat Obester (1 goal and 1 assist), Matt Grasseschi (1 goal and 2 assists), and Chris Reesor (1 goal and 2 assists) were the other goal scorers. Pete Mossberg was Mr. Assist with 5 helpers on the game. Derek Porter had 2 assists while Eric Allen had 1 assist.

Brad Peterson got a bloody nose in his first period fight but held his own given his limited fisticuff experience. Blake Crawford took on the Rattlers tough guy and also held his own despite being outsized. In the final bout, Eric Allen surrendered the first punch to a 6'4" defenseman then outmeasured the much larger player who was satisfied just clutching and wrestling. The final highlight goes to the penalty killers who were successful on 8 penalties, 2 of which were two men short. The Eagles scored on 2 of their 5 Power Play opportunities.

Golden  Eagles 14 - Nevada 1
January 25, 2002 - The Eagles dominated the Rattlers scoring 6 goals in the first period, outpacing Nevada 2-1 in the second, then cruising home with 6 unanswered goals in the third. Pat Obester and Chris Kaiser were  the big scorers as each had 6 point games - Pat with four goals and 2 assists and Chris with 2 goals and 4 assists. Not far behind was Pete Mossberg who had 5 points with 2 goals and 3 assists. Brad Peterson got his hat trick and chipped in a helper for a productive 4 point night. Joe Carbone narrowly missed his first hat trick as a junior with 2 nice goals. Chris Reesor completed the Eagles scoring with 1 goal and 1 assist. Chris Megeath and Donnie McCormick each had 2 assists. Eric Allan chipped in an assist and Peter Mehdizedeh got his first point as an Eagle with a solo assist in a solid effort.

Adam Talatinick was in goal for the Eagles. He made some spectacular saves in blocking 26 of 27 shots he faced. The Eagles directed 50 shots at the Rattler goalies.

Golden  Eagles 5 - Phoenix 8
January 6, 2002 - The Eagles finally got their offensive engine running, but were still unable to shut down the Polar Bears as Phoenix took a 3-0 first period lead then held that margin the rest of the way. It was an evenly contested game after spotting the 3-0 lead in the first ten minutes of the game. 

Golden  Eagles 1 - Phoenix 9
January 5, 2002 - It's hard to imagine that a 9-1 loss can be viewed positively, but in this case it was. The score was embarrassing, but the quality of play was not. The Eagles went nose to nose for 60 minutes and never backed down from any challenge. The team was not intimidated by any of the tactics of the Polar Bears and demonstrated to themselves that they can handle themselves in the tough going. In fact, the Polar Bears wouldn't even let the instigators of challenging trash talk fight for themselves, choosing instead to bait and switch with their "tough guys". In the process, Eric Allen and Jason Vollmer handled themselves very well in two separate scuffles with the toughest of the Polar Bears. 

The game itself reflected Phoenix's ability to capitalize on their opportunities while the Eagles squandered theirs. Phoenix is relentless with the speed and energy of their attack. They are difficult to outwork. As a result, the Polar Bears took a 2-0 first period lead, extended it to 6-1 after two, then chipped in three third period goals to win 9-1. Jared Dielwart got the sole Golden Eagles goal, unassisted.

Adam Tillatinik played 55 minutes, surrendering all 9 goals on 31 shots. Brian Essig finished the game stopping the 5 shots he faced.

Golden  Eagles 1 - Phoenix 7
January 4, 2002 - The Eagles just didn't play with the energy and determination that the Phoenix Polar Bears did. The first 10 minutes of the game were excellently played with good hitting and spirtited play. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Brad Peterson (assisted by Dylan Feldt and newcomer Peter Mehdizadek). Phoenix then scored three unanswered goals, off of Eagles miscues to take a 3-1 lead at the end of one period. This seemed to take the steam out of the Eagles play.

The second period was all Phoenix. They scored the only four goals of the period and took a commanding 7-1 lead into the dressing room. Two of these goals were scored while the Eagtles were short-handed. The Eagles showed some class in coming back in the third period with a solid effort. Shots were equal and there was no scoring. Peter Mossberg and Derek Porter saw their first fights of the year (their lives?) in a line brawl with two minutes left in the game. It showed their determination to step up to the challenge of the Polar Bears and was inspirational to their teammates.

Newcomers Peter Mehdizadek and Clint Ferguson played very well for the Eagles. It loolks like they'll become mainstays in the team's line-up fort the rest of the year. Brian Essig played in net for the Eagles stopping 31 of 38 shots on goal.

Golden  Eagles 3 - Bay City 2
December 16, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 3 - Bay City 0
December 15, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 6 - Bay City 2
December 14, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 13 - Nevada 1
December 9, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 9 - Nevada 2
December 8, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 21 - Nevada 0
December 7, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 7 - Valencia 4
November 18, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 14 - Valencia 0
November 17, 2001 - The Eagles were functioning on all cylinders on Saturday night as they dominated the Valencia Flyers 14-0. It seems the Flyers' strategy of "bait and skate" on Friday night gave the Eagles the motivation they needed to play a complete game of tough and skilled hockey. The team won in every aspect of the game, as the score would indicate. The Eagles took a 4-0 lead in the first period, extended the lead to 11-0 by the end of the second, then costed home with three unanswered goals in the third. Five of the goals were scored on the power play and one was short-handed in an awesome display of special teams play.

Peter Mossberg scored four goals to lead the team. Brad Peterson scored a hat-trick and added a pair of assists for a five point game. Patrick Obester, despite playing with a broken wrist, had a five assist game. Defensemen Carbone and Feldt each scored a pair of goals while Carbone also added a pair of assists for a four point game. Jared Dielwart and Derek Porter both had a goal and an assist. Chris Reesor had the final Eagles goal. To complete the scoring, Ryan Kephart had 3 assists, Kris Megeath had 2 assists, while Chris Kaiser and Jon Chapin each had one assist. Adam Talatinick earned the shoutout in goal stopping all 25 shots he faced.

There were three fights in the game. Kephart and Allan had clearcut decisions in their bouts. Jake Housman had a draw in his scuffle. The Eagles outshot the Flyers 60-25.

Golden  Eagles 4 - Valencia 2 (Empty Netter)
November 16, 2001 - The Golden Eagles were not at their best on Friday night versus the hometown Valencia Flyers. The Valencia Ice Station is a great facility and the organization is a class act. And on the ice, the Flyers played a very spirited game of hockey, pushing the Eagles to the limit in a 4-2 Eagles victory. The game was not out of question until Matt Grasseschi (from Ryan Kephart) scored an empty netter with less than a minute to go in the game.

The game started well for the Eagles as the team scored two first period goals by Dielwart (from Grasseschi) on a 2 man advantage and an even strength marker by McNees (from Brad Peterson). But the second period turned sour for the Eagles. Valencia scored a powerplay goal in the first minute of play. Dielwart, with his second goal of the game, restored the Eagles two goal lead, assisted by Obester and Mossberg. Valencia made it 3-2 before the second period came to an end.

The third period was scoreless until Grass iced it with his empty netter. Brian Essig played the entire game in goal stopping 23 of the 25 shots he faced. The Eagles outshot the Flyers 39 to 25.

Golden  Eagles 5 - Salt Lake 2
November 4, 2001 - The Golden Eagles completed a much needed sweep on Sunday by beating the tenacious Maple Leafs  5-2. The win kept the Eagles in the running for first place in the WSHL standings. This game was not decided until the final minute when Dielwart knocked in a short-handed empty-net goal to give the Eagles a 5-2 cushion.

McNees scored the only goal of the first period, assisted by Dylan Feldt. The Leafs tied it up early in the second period on a goal by Shane Gefroh (assisted by Neal McCafferty). Chris Kaiser restored the lead, assisted by Chris Reesor, before Brad Peterson put the Eagles up 3-1 with just over two minutes to go in the period. But Russell scored a powerplay goal for the Leafs, with less than a minute to play, to end the period 3-2. Shane and Jesse Gefroh assisted on the Leafs goal.

The third period was a penalty filled affair. On three separate occasions the Eagles were penalized two men short. Great work by Carbone, Cebuhar, Mossberg and Dielwart, held the Leafs powerplay at bay and enabled the Eagles to hang on for the win. Kaiser, with his second goal of the game (from Reesor and Feldt), gave the Eagles some breathing room with eight minutes to go in the game. But the third two man disadvantage of the period, with just under two minutes to go in the game, made it a very uncomfortable lead. The Leafs pulled their goalie giving them a three man advantage. With under a minute remaining,  Kephart came out of the penalty box and hit Dielwart with a pass which he one-timed into the vacant net. It secured the 5-2 Eagles win.

Essig was in net for the Eagles making 33 of 35 saves. Cory Johnson played for the Leafs stopping 31 of 36 shots he faced.

Golden  Eagles 7 - Salt Lake 1
November 3, 2001 - Saturday night was a solid effort for the Eagles and a tremendous night for Ryan Kephart and his linemates Derek Porter and Matt Grasseschi. While Friday night was the Mossberg show, Saturday night featured a 3 goal, 2 assist, 5 point night for Kephart. Porter had 2 assists while Grasseschi had a goal and an assist. The Tennessee duo of Chris Reesor and Brad Peterson each had a goal and an assist, as they pulled out of a bit of scoring slump in fine style. Mossberg missed on several excelllent opportunities but made no mistake on his break-away while short-handed which nailed the coffin on the Maple Leafs. Carbone, Feldt and Dielwart all had single assists on the night.

Shea Dommer, from brother Aaron and Mike Bernardy, got the lone Maple Leaf goal. Mike Hill played in net for the Eagles stopping 31 of the 32 shots he faced. The Leafs goalies, Cory Santos and Spencer Morgan, faced 45 shots in the game.

Golden  Eagles 8 - Salt Lake 2
November 2, 2001 - The Golden Eagles got back on the winning track on Friday night by beating Salt Lake Maple Leafs 8-2. As usual there was alot of emotion in this rivlary and it manifested itself in a couple of good scuffles. In the first, Adam Campbell seemed to get the best of Andrew Garrett. The other saw Dylan Feldt handle himself well against Neal McCafferty. As for scoring goals, the Eagles scored the first three goals in the first period, let the Leafs back in the game with two quick goals in the last two minutes of the period, then re-established their lead with five unanswered goals in the second period. There was no scoring in the third.

Mossberg was the big gun on this night with four goals and two assists for a six point night. His work ethic was an inspiration to his linemates who fed off of Pete's spirited play whenever he was on the ice. Clark McNees got four assists while fellow linemate Jared Dielwart got three assists - officially (actually he got a goal and two assists as he scored a hard work goal while lying in front of the net). Ryan Kephart had a solid night with a goal and an assist. Derek Porter sniped a nice goal and Matt Grasseschi got two assists. Chris Reesor and Jake Anderson completed the scoring with a goal apiece. Joe Carbone got an assist.

Brian Essig was in net. He made 29 of 31 saves for a 93.5% save percentage. Chris Kaiser, Eric Allan and Pat Obester were missing from action due to injuries. Pat suffered a broken arm in the Polar Bears series and is expected to miss the next three weeks. Chris and Eric should be back in action for the next series.

Golden  Eagles 3 - Phoenix 5 (empty netter) 
October 28, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 5 - Phoenix 6 
October 27, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 1 - Phoenix 10 
October 26, 2001 - 

Golden  Eagles 5 - Salt Lake 4 
October 20, 2001 - The Golden Eagles beat a determined and persistent Salt Lake Maple Leafs team on Sunday, by a final score of 5-4. This game was not out of question until the final buzzer. To add a little drama, the Eagles played almost the entire final two minutes of the game two men short. Fortunately, the penalty killing units were solid and the Eagles took an important two points as they look forward to next weekend's battle of first and second with the Phoenix Polar Bears.

Andrew Garrett started the scoring for the Maple Leafs, from Boyd and Barrett. Kaiser, unassisted, replied for the Eagles less than two minutes later. It looked like the Eagles were going to start dominating the Leafs when Joe Carbone scored on the powerplay to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. But an Eagle miscue opened the door for Jesse Gefroh to knot the game at 2-2. Another Eagles powerplay goal by Obester (from Kephart) restored the one goal lead. Again it was short lived as Garrett scored his second of the game just before the first period ended. 

Kaiser scored his second goal of the game (from Mossberg) to start the second period and again give the Eagles the lead. With the Eagles on the powerplay and pressing for a little breathing room, another Eagles mistake lead to Jesse Gefroh's second goal, with his brother Shane setting him up. Before the powerplay ended, Porter got the goal back as he knocked in a rebound from Obester and Kephart. The second period ended 5-4 for the Eagles.

The third period was exciting, but didn't generate any scoring. Brian Essig was in goal for the Eagles and recorded his seventh win of the season as he stopped 31 of the 35 shots he faced.

Golden  Eagles 2 - Salt Lake 3 (Shootout)
October 20, 2001 - Ooops!! The Golden Eagles were too cocky and laid an egg. It cost them a critical point in the battle for first place in the WSHL standings. Eagles looked slow and lethargic compared to the spirited play of the Maple Leafs. In the end, the Leafs were full value for the shoot-out victory over the Eagles.

The Eagles scored the only goal in the first two periods. Grasseschi finished off one of the few well executed break-outs by the Eagles, as Mossberg and Housman assisted. In the third period, the Leafs tied it up on a goal by Eric Bowman (from Aaron Dommer). Carbone restored the Eagle's tenuous lead less than two minutes later. It looked like the 2-1 lead was going to stand up, but the Leafs kept pushing and finally were rewarded for their tenacity on a goal by Andrew Garrett (from Bowman and Aaron Dommer). There was no scoring in the five minute sudden death overtime.

The shootout saw the Leafs take a 2-0 lead on tallies by A. Dommer and Bowman. Kris Megeath and Brad Peterson tied it up 2-2 setting the stage for the last two shooters. Unfortunately, the always reliable Peter Mossberg was robbed on his attempt for the Eagles. Then Justin Barrett scored for the Leafs to give them the victory.

Adam Talatinick was in goal for the Eagles. He was spectacular at times making 31 of 33 saves. Cory Johnson was equally impressive with an identical 31 of 33 saves.

Golden  Eagles 8 - Salt Lake 3
October 19, 2001 - It was the battle of Utah at the Olympic Oval on Friday night. The Eagles set the stage for the game with two quick goals by Anderson, who knocked in a rebound from Dielwart, then Kaiser on a carbon copy play from Dielwart and Anderson. The Dielwart line was the hardest working line for the Eagles - and it showed as they produced a plus 3 for the game. After Leaf player Russell (from Jesse Gefro) narrowed the score to 2-1, the Eagles tallied two late goals by Dylan Feldt (from Peterson and Reesor) and Porter (on a beautiful powerplay goal from Mossberg and Obester) to take a 4-1 lead into the dressing room after one period.

The two teams exchanged goals in the second period as the Leaf's Shane Gefroh scored his second goal of the night on the powerplay, narrowing the gap to 4-2. Peterson replied for the Eagles (from Carbone) before the second period ended, on a blistering slapshot from just inside the blueline. 

Dielwart, got the Eagle momentum going in the third with a nice goal from Mossberg and Anderson. After Garrett scored for the Leafs, from Linio, Derek Porter finished the scoring on the Eagles third powerplay of the night. Mossberg and Grasseschi got the assists. Brian Essig went all the way in net for the Eagles, stopping 23 of the 26 shots he faced. 

Golden  Eagles 10 - Valencia Flyers 2
October 14, 2001 - The Eagles finally put together an all-around solid effort in beating the Valencia Flyers 10-2 on Sunday. The team combined skill, toughness, work ethic and teamwork to make it a convincing win for the hometown Eagles who continue to be undefeated at home. The weekend sweep also moved Utah Valley into first place in the WSHL standings, ahead of the Phoenix Polarbears and Bay City Bombers. Click here for standings.

The Eagles started fast and ended strongly, taking a 4-0 lead in the first period, holding the lead at four goals at 6-2 at the end of two, then coasting home with four unanswered goals in the third for a 10-2 victory. 

Kris Megeath engaged in his first fight of the year and won it. Jon Chapin scored his first goal as a junior. Joe Carbone just missed getting his first ever hat trick as a junior. Joe and Brad Peterson (2 goals and 1 assist) each had a pair of goals to lead the Eagles scoring. Ryan Kephart had a goal and 2 assists as he has stepped into the Eagles line-up and made an immediate contribution. Jon Chapin, Jared Dielwart, Adam Campbell, Chris Reesor, and Matt Grasseschi each had a goal and an assist. Ty Cebuhar, Peter Mossberg and Dylan Feldt all had 2 assists. Clark McNees had a lone assist to complete the scoring. So it was a good overall performance with the scoring being quite evenly distributed.

Adam Talatinick played the full game in goal making 16 of 18 saves in a solid effort. 

Golden  Eagles 7 - Valencia Flyers 4
October 13, 2001 - The Golden Eagles continued to play less than inspired hockey on Saturday night. A lackluster effort forced the Eagles to overcome a 2-0 first period deficit to prevail 7-4. The score was 2-0 for the Flyers with less than three minutes expired in the game. The Eagles gathered themselves to score the next three goals to take a 3-2 lead, but lost the lead again with sloppy play on their own powerplay late in the first period. It was 3-3 after one.

The Eagles outscored the Flyers 2-0 in the second period to make it 5-3 at the end of the second intermission. The third period saw the Eagles outshoot the Flyers 28-1 but only outscore their opponents 2-1. The final score of 7-4 was flattering to the Flyers goaltender, Laverenty Kazaryan, who made 63 of 70 saves in a heroic effort.  For the Eagles, Adam Talatinick played the first period, surrendering 3 goals on 10 shots. Brian Essig relieved Adam in the second period and stopped 5 of the 6 shots he faced.

Despite all the shots on goal, the Eagles were far from crisp in this game. Had they played as they usually do, they could have won in a more convincing and quality fashion. Brad Peterson regained his scoring touch with two goals and an assist. Pete Mossberg had 3 assists to match Peterson's three point night. Pat Obester, Eric Allan and Ryan Kephart each had  1 goal and 1 assist. Dylan Feldt and Kevin Fillbach got the other Eagles goals. Derek Porter and Kris Megeath had two assists each while Adam Campbell and Jared Dielwart both had single assists to complete the scoring.

Eric Allan won a clear-cut decision in the first scuffle of the night, while Adam Campbell fought to a draw in another.

Golden  Eagles 7 - Valencia Flyers 2
October 12, 2001 - It was strange sort of game on Friday night versus the Valencia Flyers. Although the final score of 7-2 for the Eagles would suggest a decisive victory, it was actually much closer than it appeared. The Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the first period, on goals by Peter Mossberg (assisted by Adam Campbell) and Derek Porter (from Mossberg and Obester). 

There was no scoring in the second period. So it was 2-0 with just twenty minutes to play. The third period saw the Eagles offense get untracked, led by the line of Porter, Grasseschi and newcomer, Ryan Kephart. Kephart played for the Eagles two years ago and recently returned to the fold. This line got things going early on a beautiful three-way passing play which was scored by Grasseschi from both Kephart and Porter. After the Flyers broke the shutout, to narrow the score to 3-1, Kephart scored his first of the year (from Grasseschi and Carbone),  followed by another Grasseschi goal (again assisted by Porter and Kephart).

Joe Carbone, who had a solid night on defense, made it 6-1 as he sliced into the high slot and sniped a goal from Jared Dielwart and Eric Allan. Valencia responded with the second goal of the night from Rubinoff, before Kephart sealed the deal with his second goal of the game and fourth point to make the final score 7-2. Porter, who also had a four point game, and Brad Pebley, assisted on the seventh Eagles goal.

Brian Essig had another solid night in net for the Eagles stopping 15 of the 17 shots he faced. The Flyers goalie, Robinson, also played well blocking 42 of 49 shots on goal.

"Midget" Golden  Eagles 2 - LA Jr Kings 2
October 7, 2001 - The midgets got into action on Sunday morning playing the LA Jr Kings, who won the Southwest Youth Hockey League Midget AAA division last year. It was a good close game all the way. The Eagles took an early 1-0 lead on Jake Anderson's unassisted goal at the two minute mark of the first period. On a totally strange goal, just :30 later, the Kings tied it up. Kevin Fillbach, on a nice play from Matthew Grasseschi, gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.

The Eagles played nine of the fifteen minutes in the second period short-handed. To their credit, the Eagles gave up only one short-handed goal during that time. The period ended tied at 2-2. There was no scoring in the third period, although the Eagles had several excellent chances, striking two goalposts in the process, to tally the winner. 

Brian Essig (11 saves in 12 shots) and Dustin Van Dyke (14 of 15 saves) split the goaltending duties for the Eagles.

Golden  Eagles 7 - Weber State University 6 (Overtime)
October 5, 2001 - The Eagles played an Exhibibition game against the Weber State U. ACHA college team on Friday night. The Eagles survived 7-6 in an exciting sudden-death overtime victory, despite being outplayed in the the first and third periods.

The Eagles played to a 1-1 tie at the end of the first period. After falling behind 2-1 in the second, the Eagles surged ahead with 4 unanswered goals to lead 5-2. Before the second period ended, Weber State had narrowed the gap to 5-3. In the third period, Weber State scored first to make it 5-4. The Eagles responded to make the score 6-4 with less than five minutes remaining in the game. But the Weber team was relentless in pressuring the Eagles into mistakes and finally were rewarded with two goals to end regulation at 6-6.

The Eagles regained their poise in overtime and took the play to Weber State. With just :25 remaining in the sudden death overtime period,  Patrick Obester converted a two on one pass from Peter Mossberg to win the game 7-6.

The Eagles goal scorers were Eric Allan, Jake Anderson, Matthew Grasseschi (with an Espy caliber goal), Brad Peterson (1 goal and 1 assist), Peter Mossberg (2 goals and 2 assists) and Patrick Obester. Clark McNees (2 assists), Chris Reesor, Joe Carbone and Donnie McCormick also got assists in the game.

Adam Talatinick had a busy night in goal, stopping 44 of the 50 shots he faced. Adam made some critical saves to keep the Eagles in it when the team was struggling.

Golden  Eagles 9 - San Diego 2
September 30, 2001 - The Golden Eagles completed the sweep of the San Diego Surf with a 9-2 victory on Sunday. The Surf played with determination and heart but were unable to hold off the Golden Eagles attack, which was clicking on all cylinders. The Eagles took a 3-0 lead at the end of one period, extended it to 6-1 after two periods, then outscored the Surf 3-1 in the third to claim the 9-2 victory.

Chris Reesor (3 goals and 1 assist) and Brad Peterson (2 goals and 2 assists) led the offensive attack for the Eagles, while linemate Ryan Timmons chipped in a pair of assists. The line of Derek Porter (1 goal and 2 assists), Matthew Grasseschi (2 goals and 1 assist) and Patrick Obester (1 assist) made it a powerful one-two punch. The defense also got into the action as Ty Cebuhar scored his first goal in junior hockey, in this his second season, and Joe Carbone and Brad Pebley each added assists.

Adam Talatinick won his first game as a junior goalie. He was impressive in stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced. The Eagles directed 52 shots on the Surf goalies.

Golden  Eagles 10 - San Diego 2
September 29, 2001 - It was an all around solid effort put in by the Golden Eagles on Saturday night. There was co-ordinated team play, some excellent individual efforts and a dash of "in your face" physical hockey. In the end, the Eagles met all challenges and prevailed 10-2. 

The Eagles took a 3-0 lead in the first period, pushed it to 4-0 at the end of two, then put it into high gear with a 6-2 edge in scoring in the third period. After a fairly docile first period, it appeared the San Diego Surf were determined to upset the Eagles attack with a physical, intimidating style of play in the second period. At first, it seemed to work. However, the Eagles took the challenge square on, in the third period, and sent a message that the team was not easily intimidated. Ryan Timmons won a decisive fight early in the third period, which seemed to take some of the steam out of the Surf. A few minutes later, Chris Reesor was provoked to enter into the fray and dominated his combatant in a second skirmish. From there, the Eagles found open ice and exploited it by creating and converting solid scoring opportunities.

The scoring summary for the game is:

Brad Peterson - 2 goals and 2 assists
Dylan Feldt - 2 goals and 1 assist
Ryan Timmons - 1 goal and 2 assists
Chris Reesor - 1 goal and 1 assist
Kevin Fillbach - 2 goals
Patrick Obester - 1 goal
Clark McNees - 1 goal
Derek Porter, Jared Dielwart, Joe Carbone, Brad Pebley, Donnie McCormick, Michael Bernardy - 1 assist each

In goal, Mike Hill stopped 24 of 26 shots. Golden Eagles had 62 shots on net.

Golden  Eagles 5 - San Diego 0
September 28, 2001 - The Golden Eagles played their home opener against the San Diego Surf and prevailed 5-0. The Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the first period as Chris Kaiser tallied at the 2:00 minute mark, from Jared Dielwart and Clark McNees and Matt Grasseschi, with his first goal of the year, scored late in the period. Chris Reesor made it 3-0 in the second, as he converted on a nice passing play from Ryan Timmons and Ty Cebuhar. 

The third period was all Eagles as Jake Houseman made it 4-0, from Brad Peterson, before Kaiser finished the scoring with an unassisted marker with two minutes left to play in the game. Brian Essig continued his solid play in net with a shutout on 19 shots. The Eagles had 43 shots on the San Diego netminder.

Golden  Eagles 0 - Phoenix 3  [League Game]
September 23, 2001 - The schedule finally took its toll. Playing four games in 46 hours was too much for the Eagles to overcome against an extremely talented and well-prepared Phoenix Polar Bears team. Phoenix was sharper physically and mentally and played much more aggressively than the Golden Eagles. In the end, Phoenix prevailed 3-0 and were full-value for the win.

The first period began in a defensive style for both teams. The good scoring opportunities were few and far between until the Eagles took an unnecessary retaliatory penalty. Phoenix converted this man advantage to take a 1-0 lead. And before the Eagles regained their composure, the Polar Bears added an even strength goal (just 15 seconds later), to make it 2-0 with five minutes remaining in the first period. 

The score remained 2-0 until late in the third period when an Eagles miscue, while on the powerplay, resulted in a breakaway for the Polar Bears which they converted. The 3-0 score held up as the Eagles valiantly tried to mount an attack but just seemed unable to win the battle to the loose pucks. Brian Essig was outstanding in net, stopping 56 of the 59 shots he faced, as he kept the outcome of the game within reach until the end. 

Golden  Eagles 6 - Bay City 3  [League Game]
September 22, 2001 - After a good night's sleep,  that seemed too short after the crazy Friday they faced, the Eagles were ready to start the WSHL league season against the Bay City Bombers. In a hard fought battle, the Eagles clawed their way to a 6-3 victory. The score was not indicative of the play as the teams were tied 0-0 after one period and 2-2 after two, before the Eagles got the offense going with four goals in the third period compared to the Bombers' one. It was a gutsy effort by the Eagles who had to overcome overworked legs to prevail.

The Eagles scored first on a goal by Patrick Obester, assisted by Jon Chapin and Brad Peterson, with a short handed goal early in the second period. The Bombers tied it up at 1-1 before Clark McNees restored the lead while the Eagles enjoyed the man advantage. Jake Anderson and Kevin Fillbach assisted on the play. The Bombers tied it up at 2-2 before the second period ended.

Fillbach (from McNees and Cebuhar), Brad Peterson (from Fillbach and Joe Carbone) and Chris Kaiser (from Ryan Timmons and Jared Dielwart) finally gave the Eagles some breathing space in the third period. The Bombers narrowed the score to 5-3 before Joe Carbone scored an empty netter in the final minute of play to seal the victory. Timmons got an assist on the play winning an important face-off in the defensive zone. Brian Essig was outstanding in net coming up with key saves at critical times, as he kept the Eagles in the game before the skaters got their second wind. He stopped 34 of the 37 shots he faced.

Golden  Eagles 4 - San Diego 3  [Exhibition Game]
September 21, 2001 - It was quite the end to the day. After a 6 hour bus ride, three and a half hours of hockey, a quick supper and check in at the hotel, the Eagles were again at the rink to take on the upstart San Diego Surf.  A scant three hours after playing the Rattlers, the Eagles were facing off in their second game of the day. The Surf jumped out to a 1-0 first period lead as they notched the only goal of the period. 

The Eagles tied the score on a nice goal by Brad Pebley (assisted by Patrick Obester and Jake Anderson) early in the second period. The Surf responded with a powerplay goal before the Eagles began to rally. Goals by Kevin Fillbach (from Michael Bernardy) and Brad Peterson (from Chris Reesor and Clark McNees) allowed the Eagles to surge into the lead for the first time. The period ended with the Eagles holding a tenuous 4-2 lead. 

The Surf scored the only goal of the third period, as the Eagles held on to win 4-3. Dustin Van Dyke was solid in net making 23 of 26 saves.

Golden  Eagles 7 - Nevada 3  [Exhibition Game]
September 21, 2001 - The Golden Eagles began the WSHL Shootout Tournament with a convincing 7-3 win over the expansion Nevada Rattlers. The Rattlers scored the first goal early in the first period. The Eagles quickly answered on goals by Derek Porter (assisted by Matt Grassesschi and Patrick Obester) and Adam Campbell (from Grassesschi), to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.

The Eagles outscored the Rattlers 4-1 in the second period, to take command of the game. Jared Dielwart (from Ryan Timmons and Chris Kaiser), Eric Allen (from Campbell and Brad Pebley), and Brad Peterson (from Ty Cebuhar and Chris Reesor) scored in the early going. After the Rattlers responded with their second goal of the game, Adam Campbell (from Eric Allen) tallied to end a high scoring second period.

The Eagles and Rattlers traded goals in the third period. Chris Reesor (from Peterson and Kris Megeath) was the lone marksman for the Eagles. Mike Hill went all the way in goal, stopping 25 of the 28 shots he faced.