Loveland, CO -- The least penalized teams in the Pacific Division face off in a battle of the birds in Loveland on Friday night. The visiting San Diego Gulls (ANA) came to town as the Colorado Eagles tried to climb the standings. Because of the schedule, the Eagles are in sixth place, despite a 6-2-1-1 record in their last 10 games. They do have five games in hand over the first-place Calgary Wranglers, 12 points ahead of them. The Eagles have been getting healthier recently. Jason Polin, Jean-Luc Foudy and now Ondrej Pavel all returned to the lineup in the last week. It was a hard battle at first, but the Eagles would walk away with a 5-1 victory.

Throughout the opening period, the Eagles repeatedly fell into the Gulls' trap. San Diego would pass it down low into the Colorado zone, drawing everyone low. At that point, the Gulls would pass it to their open men on the points. They would then throw it toward the net or run it down the boards and repeat.

Chase Bradley continues his recent streak since his reassignment to the Eagles. Since the Colorado Avalanche sent him down to the Eagles on November 30, he has four goals in just six games. He also added an assist to the record and improved his physical game. Bradley has been more than willing to fight for pucks along the boards and in the corners.

Nikita Prishchepov has shown increased confidence in his game as of late. He has been a lot more physical with his game, barreling over a few players in tonight's game. A San Diego Gull player turned to head out of the zone and Prishchepov lowered his shoulder to plow him over. His goal was a showcase of Prishchepov's all-around skill. He fought along the boards to steal the puck, turned, and went bar down for his third of the year. Prishchepov later added a power-play goal and an empty net goal for his first professional hat trick.

"His first game in Nashville, he was really good, or his first couple games then," Chris Wagner said of Prishchepov. "I think he got a little nervous, but it's also a tough role to play when you know you're playing five to seven minutes. You have to stay dialed without actually being on the ice and then do the little things. But he's so young that being down here for him and playing more is probably better for his development right now. But it's nice for him to get the NHL exposure to see what the game is like up there. And I think it'd be great for him. He's a really good kid. He works hard. I'm excited for him."

The Eagles will have a quick turnaround with a matinee game against the San Diego Gulls on Saturday at 3 pm in Loveland at Blue Arena.