The Eagles wrapped up their three-game road trip with a barn-burner of a game against the Coachella Valley Firebirds (SEA), ending in their first shootout loss of the season.

This game was bonkers.

It all began with Coachella Valley’s Kaden Hammell scoring at 6:40 of the first period. A goal by Ian McKinnon followed less than a minute later, topped off by a third goal less than a minute after that, this time by John Hayden. Since Trent Miner was only playing his second game since returning, the Eagles pulled him at 8:28 of the first period and Isak Posch replaced him after he allowed three goals in less than two minutes.

The Eagles scored two goals before intermission. A shorthanded goal by Jayson Megna only 1:31 into the second period tied the game at three. The tie lasted for exactly 53 seconds before Coachella Valley scored two more back-to-back goals. A few minutes later, Danil Gushchin netted this beauty, making the score 5–4.

Those four goals all happened in six minutes. Bryan Yoon then scored his second goal of the season early in the third to tie the game at five apiece.

That’s ten goals from ten different goal scorers. After that, things settled down. The game remained tied at five all the way through regulation and overtime. The Eagles then lost their first shootout of the year.

Nothing about this game was normal.

Until this game, the Eagles hadn’t been outshot in a game all season. The previous high for shots allowed this season was 26. In this game, they allowed 37. They’re also one of the best in the league regarding goals against, and hadn’t allowed over four in a game, but they allowed five this time. Colorado’s power play, which was ranked third in the league going into tonight, came up without a single shot on goal in their one power play attempt. The Firebirds hadn’t scored a single power play goal at home yet this season, but had one in this game. No Eagles game this season had gone to a shootout, but this one did.

And it was also the Eagles’ first non-regulation loss.

That’s more than enough firsts for one game.

Bryan Yoon deserves a contract

Parker, Colorado native Bryan Yoon was a captain at Colorado College. He played most of last season with the Utah Grizzlies and 22 regular-season games with the Eagles. He had seven assists in that time, but no goals. He also played in seven playoff games with the Eagles, adding another three assists to his tally. This year, he signed with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates (FLA) but is currently on loan under a PTO to the Colorado Eagles. Under that contract, he can play 25 games. He’s now played nine of those. He scored his first goal on Sunday against the San Diego Gulls (ANA). His second was the game-tying goal on Wednesday.

He’s a hard-working addition to the blue line, and if he can keep scoring, Colorado will have a hard time letting him go back to Savannah.

Up Next

The Eagles now head back home having secured five out of six possible points on their road trip. They face the Abbotsford Canucks (VAN) in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday night. AHLTV on FloHockey.com will stream the game.