Eagles Fall 2-1 to Gulls, Concluding Disappointing Road Trip

Colorado's season-long, eight-game road trip ended the only way it could have gone wrong: a tight 2-1 loss to the San Diego Gulls at Pechanga Arena San Diego on Saturday. Valtteri Puustinen provided the Eagles' lone answer, but it wasn't enough against a Gulls team that got timely contributions from both ends.

Nikita Nesterenko opened the scoring at 9:33 of the first period, camping out in the low slot and deflecting a shot from the right circle past the Colorado goaltender. Coulson Pitre and Tristan Luneau drew the assists on the play. Luneau then added a goal of his own to push San Diego's lead to 2-0 before Puustinen cut the deficit to one, leaving the Eagles chasing the rest of the way.

The difference between the two teams ultimately came down to Tomas Suchanek. The San Diego netminder earned the win by stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced, a performance that gave the Gulls just enough margin to hold off Colorado's push in the final period.

The eight-game road stretch was a genuine endurance test for the Avalanche's AHL affiliate. A quick scan of Colorado's results over that run tells the story: a 4-0 shutout loss in Abbotsford, a 4-3 overtime defeat against the Condors, and a 4-2 loss to Henderson before the Eagles salvaged a pair of shootout wins against the Reign and Silver Knights to keep things interesting. The trip closed the same way it opened too many times, with Colorado on the wrong side of a one-goal game it couldn't convert.

Two days after the loss, the organization moved to add depth on the blue line, signing defenseman Chris Hedden to an Amateur Tryout Agreement and Aiden Hansen-Bukata to a Professional Tryout Agreement on March 16. Hedden arrives from Air Force, where he captained the Falcons during the 2025-26 season and led all skaters with 12 goals and 34 points. The 6-foot, 185-pound defenseman gives Colorado's coaching staff another option as the team works to sharpen its roster down the stretch.