Laperriere OT Hero For Avalanche
(from CBC Sports Online)
By CBC Sports
October 30, 2005 - Ian Laperriere beat Vancouver Canucks goalie Alex Auld on a breakaway two minutes into overtime Saturday to give the Colorado Avalanche their third straight win.
After taking a Patrice Brisebois pass at centre ice, Laperriere broke in alone and wristed a shot through Auld's legs for his fourth goal of the season to give Colorado a 4-3 victory and sweep of the two-game series at Pepsi Center.
"I went for the safe play," said Laperriere. "Went for the five hole and it went in. For a guy who doesn't get many of these opportunities it's a great feeling."
The Avalanche prevailed 6-2 on Thursday on the strength of two goals by Pierre Turgeon.
Alex Tanguay forced overtime on Saturday, converting an Andrew Brunette pass to extend his points streak to nine games (three goals, nine assists).
Brunette and defenceman Rob Blake, with his first of the season, had the other Colorado goals.
Matt Cooke, Brendan Morrison and Henrik Sedin scored for Vancouver, which has lost two straight on the heels of a six-game win streak.
Canucks goalie Dan Cloutier, who was yanked in Thursday's setback, didn't make it through the first period on Saturday.
He left the game with a suspected concussion after being bowled over in a collision with Brunette and Canucks defenceman Nolan Baumgartner. Cloutier was taken to hospital before the end of the game for further tests.
Alex Auld was solid in a relief role, stopping 23 of 26 shots.
Avalanche counterpart David Aebischer made 23 saves to earn to his fifth win of the season against three defeats.
Down 2-1, Colorado took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play when Blake blasted a slap shot from the top of the right circle over the stick side of Auld.
Vancouver grabbed a brief 3-2 lead 1:56 into the third when Henrik Sedin recorded his fourth goal of the season. After the Avalanche coughed up the puck, Sedin took a pass from his brother Daniel Sedin, who was behind the net, and from the right side tapped the puck home.
Vancouver's lead atop the Northwest Division was trimmed to four points as Minnesota defeated Columbus 3-1.
The Canucks play host to the Wild on Wednesday.