This story was originally published on Hockey Mountain High, part of the Mile High Sports network.
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With the Western Conference Championship tied 1–1, the Colorado Eagles head to Chicago for the next three games of the series. Game One ended in a 3–2 loss for the Eagles, with every goal scored being a power play goal. Game Two was an exciting 5–2 victory for the Eagles. This was a much closer game than the score would indicate with Colorado being down 1–2 with only five minutes left to play.
Colorado ultimately won that game by limiting Chicago’s offensive chances. In the first 12 minutes of the game, Colorado only allowed two shots on goal. Then, in the final 20 minutes of the game, the Eagles outshot Chicago 13–1. The Eagles also went two-for-four on the power play, despite failing to score when granted a five-minute major. In both games, they showed tremendous discipline, despite Chicago’s best efforts to goad them into taking unnecessary penalties. Head coach Mark Letestu also commended them for staying calm and not getting frustrated at any point. They will undoubtedly attempt the same strategy for game three.
One thing that could work in the Eagles’ favor — the Wolves will be without one of their top scorers, Felix Unger Sörum. Chicago will play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. It’s not known when exactly Unger Sörum was hurt, but if the Wolves feel they’re entitled to retribution, it could make for an ugly start to the game. Letestu also commented in pregame that the ice at the Allstate Arena is soft because the building is kept warmer than other arenas. This will work to slow the Eagles down and could result in some odd bounces.
First Period
The Eagles outshot the Wolves 9–2 through the first half of the period. They finally broke through at 9:45 of the period when Chase Bradley tipped in a shot from Keaton Middleton and Ivan Ivan.
That’s a new celly for Brads pic.twitter.com/O3uqKVO5tU
— x-Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) June 3, 2026
It was Bradley’s fourth goal of the playoffs.
The Eagles had a great three-on-one rush late in the period but couldn’t find the net. They went to first intermission up 1–0. They outshot the Wolves 18–4 in the first period. And of those four shots, only three were quality chances.
First period shots on goal.
Second Period
In the first seven minutes of the second period, the Wolves outshot the Eagles 7–3. They also had several very good net-front opportunities, but Trent Miner turned them all away. Both teams had power plays in the middle of the frame but failed to convert. The Wolves continued to push but couldn’t beat Miner. Then, with 2:41 left in the second, Tye Felhaber grabbed the puck and backhanded it from the slot and into the net.
A little blind backhand action pic.twitter.com/JW9nkKClga
— x-Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) June 3, 2026
The Eagles uncharacteristically allowed 18 shots on goal in the second while only recording eleven shots of their own. Nonetheless, the Eagles took a 2–0 lead into intermission.
Third Period
The Eagles started the third period with 1:16 of a power play. Rather than score, they immediately gave up a short-handed goal to Domenick Fensore, cutting their lead to 2–1. At 9:06 of the third, Colorado native Cal Foote scored his third goal of the playoffs, tying the game. The Eagles kept committing turnovers and Miner kept bailing them out. Overtime seemed unavoidable. But then, with only 51 seconds left to play, Bradley passed the puck to Ivan above the slot, and Ivan gave the Eagles a late lead and a victory.
With a flick of the wrist the Eagles are back on top! pic.twitter.com/nfqpR5woNo
— x-Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) June 3, 2026
The Eagles now lead the Western Conference Finals 2–1.
Takeaways
Tristen Nielsen leads the Eagles in playoff points, and leads the entire AHL in playoff goals with eight. But no doubt about it, the Eagles’ best line through the playoffs has been Ivan, Bradley, and Jason Polin. Polin and Bradley each have a goal in this series. Ivan has two goals and an assist in the last two games, and ten points in the last ten games.
I predicted in the series preview that specialty teams would be critical in this series and this game proves the point. The Eagles had four power plays and failed to score on any of them. They also gave up short-handed breakaways off of turnovers in all but one of those power plays. They were luck it only cost them once. It’s something they definitely need to improve on.
Up Next
Game Four happens tomorrow, Wednesday, June 3, at 6:05 pm Mountain Time. AHLTV on FloHockey.com will stream the game.