Colorado Eagles reach Western Conference Finals with Game 4 comeback win

Colorado did not just survive Game 4. It flipped the series on its head, scoring three times in 5:08 midway through the second period and rallying past Coachella Valley 3-2 at Blue Arena to win the best-of-five set 3-1 and reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

The Eagles were staring at another tense playoff night after the Firebirds built a two-goal cushion, but Bryan Yoon, Tristen Nielsen and Gavin Brindley answered in a burst that changed everything. Colorado never gave the lead back, and the finish matched the tone of a team that had spent the spring learning how to close instead of unraveling.

Trent Miner was again central to the breakthrough. He stopped 23 shots in the clincher, continuing a run that had already included four shutouts through Colorado’s first seven playoff starts and a .958 save percentage at one point in the postseason. On home ice, the Eagles kept feeding off that backbone, improving to 6-0 at Blue Arena in the playoffs and making every mistake by Coachella Valley feel more expensive.

The series itself showed why this advance matters. Coachella Valley had already won 10 playoff series in its brief existence and had reached the Western Conference Finals twice in its first four years, so Colorado was not knocking out a stranger. The Firebirds had also survived four elimination games this postseason before the Eagles finally ended the run. That made Colorado’s composure in the one-goal moments even more impressive, especially after the clubs traded extremes in the early games: a 3-0 Eagles shutout in Game 1, then a 4-0 Firebirds response in Game 2.

Colorado answered the swing with two decisive wins. In Game 3, Chase Bradley scored twice and added an assist, Ivan Ivan picked up two assists and Miner turned aside 28 shots in a 4-1 victory that put the Eagles on the brink. Game 4 finished the job, with Jagger Firkus and Ville Ottavainen scoring for Coachella Valley but not enough to stop Colorado’s surge.

The breakthrough also carries deeper weight for an organization that has spent years running into the same wall. Colorado has not missed the Calder Cup Playoffs since joining the AHL in 2018-19, but before this spring it had been turned away over and over, including a 5-0 elimination loss to Abbotsford last year, a series loss on an overtime goal two years ago, a 5-0 loss at Coachella Valley three years ago and a 2022 sweep in which Stockton’s Dustin Wolf shut the Eagles out three times. An Avalanche affiliate had not reached a conference final since Hershey’s back-to-back trips in 2000 and 2001.

Mark Letestu’s first season behind the bench has now produced the franchise’s deepest run yet after he took over on July 5, 2025, following Aaron Schneekloth’s move to the Seattle Kraken. Colorado now waits for Chicago or Grand Rapids, with a chance to turn this once-frustrating ceiling into a legitimate Calder Cup push.