Despite a marvelous performance by 49er netminder Ricky St. Louis and a hat trick by Joe Nalley, the 49ers fell to the Denver Pioneers by a 7-4 score in the first game of the three-game Colorado swing. The score was 3-3 until the Pioneers scored the go-ahead goal with 12:56 remaining in the third period. The home-friendly scorekeepers tallied 58 shots in favor the Pioneers and 28 for the 49ers.

Nalley’s hat trick was essentially a sampler of goals, scoring one each at even strength, on the power play, and shorthanded. Chris Chan had the other goal for the Beach. For the most part, the 49ers looked strong rolling three lines and playing solid team defense forcing the Pioneers wide on the rush and collapsing low to prevent rebound chances. Denver’s goals in the third came on deflections or shots with heavy traffic in front of St. Louis.

The 49ers have a two-hour bus ride to Fort Collins to face the Colorado State Univ. Rams at 7:30pm MT, 6:30pm PST.  After that they go on to play Colorado University—stay tuned to LBPostSports.com for updates on the roadie!

Thanks to the 49ers’ Phil Goodman for the info!