LOVELAND, Colo. — The Colorado Eagles battled their division rival in a revenge series, the Abbotsford Canucks (VAN), over the weekend. Colorado is off to its second-hottest start since the formation of the team in 2003. Injuries have devastated Abbotsford, which sits at a 2–8–0–2 record. This is after eliminating the Eagles in the Division Finals last season and winning the Calder Cup.

Friday Night: 4–1 victory

The Eagles started the game dominating the offensive game. In the first period alone, they outshot the Canucks 11–3. Multiple scoring chances came from all over the board. Tye Felhaber had the best chance, taking a direct shot on goaltender Ty Young from the mid-slot. Colorado’s offensive pressure caused Abbotsford to make several mistakes, tripping up Bryan Yoon at the end of the first frame.

Defenseman Bryan Yoon has been playing a great game as of late. Over the summer he had signed a contract to join the Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL. Because of Jacob MacDonald’s injury, the Eagles needed veteran defensemen. So, the Eagles brought Yoon back on with a professional tryout. Yoon played 22 games with the Eagles last season and 32 games with the Utah Grizzlies. He spent five years at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, taking the role of captain for the 2022–23 season. We had said that he deserved a contract as he had scored two goals in two games. As of Friday morning, the Eagles signed Yoon to a standard player contract for the rest of the season.

“It feels great,” Yoon said. It’s nice coming in and seeing a lot of familiar faces. And you know, being back in Colorado is awesome. I’m just excited to keep going. I can get out of the hotel for one and kind of get settled in and kind of make it really feel like home. And that’s huge for me.”

“He’s good player, honestly that, and there’s really not a whole bunch more about it,” added head coach Mark Letestu. “Every time we’ve put him in, he’s answered. I had no history with Bryan last year, it sounded like he did a lot of the same. You know, an opportunity is one of those things that just comes along in this league with injuries. He got a chance to play, and he’s run and he’s run with it. So he’s earned his contract. We’re happy to have him.”

Colorado had some trouble for the first half of the game getting inside the offensive zone. Abbotsford was doing a great job of keeping them on the perimeter despite the Eagles outshooting them 2–1. Once the Eagles got inside, they found success right away. Danil Gushchin nailed a one-timer from the faceoff circle to break open the scoring for the Eagles and take the lead in the second period. Felhaber would add another goal later in the second with a perfect pinch down the slot. Tristen Nielsen nailed a backhand shot in the third on CJ Kier, a Parker, CO native and playing as the emergency backup goalie, to make it 3–1.

Saturday Night: 3–2 shootout win 

Tristen Nielsen has had a heck of a last couple of weeks. On October 26, the Avalanche signed Nielsen to a two-year, two-way deal. Then on November 3, he was called-up to make his NHL debut with the Colorado Avalanche. Unfortunately, Nielsen was sent back to the Eagles that night, but it was enough time to play against his former team. Over the last two games, Nielsen has scored three goals. A shorthanded goal, and two even-strength goals. He is now second on the team in scoring with eight goals and 12 assists.

“Yeah, I’ve only had to do it once,” Nielsen said. “I’ve only played against my old team once in juniors. So it was kind of interesting. I mean, even just watching video. I mean, I was there for four years, so I kept watching the green jerseys instead of ours, but it was good. It was surreal (to make my debut). I mean, I’ve been skating or playing hockey for about 20–21 years now, and it was better late than never. You know, as a kid, you probably want to do it at 18, but I’ll take it at 25 there.”

For the first half of the game, Colorado struggled to get into Abbotsford’s zone. Colorado typically has 31 shots on goal per game (good for fourth in the AHL). They hardly managed six in the first period. During the second they stepped up their game and managed 10 more, including Nielsen’s goals. But the Canucks shut down the Eagles in the neutral zone, neutralizing their speed. Abbotsford, for the second game in a row, pushed the Eagles out to the perimeter. This made it difficult for Colorado to get high-quality shots on goal. Colorado would fight back against Abbotsford to force a shootout, and Ivan Ivan and Jayson Megna would seal the deal for the 3–2 victory.

Coach Letestu interview November 8, 2025

Tristen Nielsen interview November 8, 2025

Up Next

The Colorado Eagles will stay at home to take on the Tucson Roadrunners (UTA) on Friday at Blue Arena. AHLTV on FloHockey.com will stream the game.