Prior to taking down the Walleye, the Eagles dethroned the defending champs in the Allen Americans--winners of the last two ECHL Kelly Cups and two CHL championships prior to that--and the Idaho Steelheads in another series in which they won the final four contests.
"It's fun to see everybody going," Geertsen said. "Our team is good enough that if someone is not going, someone else is going. That is the biggest thing of all. You shut down one line, and another line is going to score, so it is tough to play against us."
Since Colorado closed out its series against Toledo on Saturday, the team will have had almost a full week between games.
The Stingrays won't have the luxury of having plenty of time to prepare. It will be a quick turnaround for the Eastern Conference champions, as they defeated the Manchester Monarchs 4-3 in Game 7 on Wednesday night and will have to fly cross country to begin the finals two days later in Loveland.
"All of the guys are proud to be here and thrilled to go to the finals. I think it is going to be a good matchup," said Nantel on Saturday, not knowing who the Eagles would face next at the time. "We'll prepare and have a good week in front of us to rest and prepare ourselves. I think it is an advantage for us."
There is belief with Colorado that the club can take down any opponent as long as it plays its game. That was the focus during the first few days of practice this week with the Eagles opponent still to be determined.
"Honestly, we just need to stick to our system," Geertsen noted. "We know that if we stick to our structure, we can go with any team so that is what we need to do. Just focus on ourselves."
Colorado and South Carolina played six times during the regular season, three games each in the other team's arena. The Eagles went 4-2 in those contests, winning two in each rink.