Calgary rallies past Colorado 7-5 after Eagles blow 4-0 lead

Colorado looked ready to cruise into the Calder Cup Playoffs with a statement win, then instead left Calgary with a warning light flashing. The Eagles surged to a 4-0 lead early in the second period, only to watch the Wranglers erase it, seize momentum and finish off a 7-5 rally that exposed how thin the margin can be when playoff hockey starts.

Gavin Brindley drove the Colorado attack with a goal and two assists, while T.J. Hughes added a goal and an assist. Luke Toporowski and Jacob MacDonald also scored as the Eagles opened the game with pace and precision, pushing Calgary onto its heels and making the night feel like a mismatch. But the Wranglers answered in waves, trimming the deficit to 4-1, then 4-2 and 4-3 before tying the game and taking control in the third period.

Martin Frk was the difference late for Calgary. He scored twice and then added the empty-netter at 19:08 to complete the 7-5 finish, the kind of closing punch that playoff teams rely on when the game turns chaotic. Arsenii Sergeev absorbed Colorado’s early pressure and still turned aside 44 of 49 shots to earn the win, a heavy workload that reflected how often the Eagles were able to generate looks even after the lead slipped away.

Isak Posch took the loss for Colorado, allowing six goals on 27 shots in a game that swung sharply from control to collapse. The Eagles went 2-for-7 on the power play, while Calgary finished 1-for-5, and the special-teams edge did not change the larger story: Colorado had the offense to build a cushion, but not the defensive structure to protect it once Calgary found life.

That matters because the regular season was already over, and the postseason comes immediately with no time to let a loss like this linger. Colorado finished second in the Pacific Division at 41-20-6-5 with 93 points and 237 goals, a strong regular season by any measure. The Eagles had already clinched their playoff berth on March 30, after a 2-1 win at Calgary combined with San Diego’s loss in Abbotsford.

Now the focus shifts to a Pacific Division First Round series against the No. 7 Gulls, who locked up the final playoff spot on April 12 and are back in the postseason for the first time since 2022. Game 1 is set for Wednesday, April 22, at Blue Arena in Loveland, and the Eagles will carry both their scoring depth and the memory of this collapse into a best-of-three series where one bad stretch can end a season fast.