The Western Conference champion will be decided tonight when the Colorado Eagles host the Chicago Wolves in Game 7 (9:05 ET, 
).
The winner will receive the Robert W. Clark Trophy and advance to the 2026 Calder Cup Final against the Toronto Marlies.
Chicago fought back from two goals down to defeat Colorado 3-2 in Game 6 last night, Ronan Seeley (1-1-2) scored the game-winning goal with 4:14 left in the game.
In less than three minutes, Sealy scored. Joel Nystrom (2-4-6) Tie.
After a brief reprieve in Game 5, Amir Miftakhov (1-0, 1.79, .952) made his first playoff start for the Wolves last night and stopped 36 shots, including all 23 he faced in the final two quarters.
The Wolves’ win marked the tenth time in the playoffs that a team won a game after trailing by two goals (or more).
“We have to do more to extend our lead,” Eagles head coach Mark Lightstu explain. “Miftakhov came in and had a pretty good game for them, but if you don’t extend the lead you give them a chance.”
Jack Akan (1-4-5) and Valtteri Pustinen (1-1-2) Both scored their first goals of the playoffs to help Colorado lead 2-0 after one period. Tristan Nelson (10-7-17) dished out two assists — his eighth multi-point game of the postseason — and tied for the league’s scoring lead.
Last year, Nelson traveled to Colorado with the Abbotsford Canucks and defeated the Eagles 5-0 in Game 5 of the conference finals.
“Being on this rink, playing in front of these fans, it’s hard to get two of those (as a visitor),” Nelson said. “When you have 20 guys willing to do whatever it takes to win a hockey game, no one can really stop you.”
Chicago is 3-1 in AHL Game 7 games. Their last such game was a 6-5 overtime loss to Texas in the 2010 conference finals. This is the first time Colorado is playing Game 7 in the Calder Cup playoffs.
“No time to pout,” Letestu added. “We have to keep going. We have a big game at home that we earned with a good regular season. I’m happy to see how we react.”
Quick click:
- Tonight will be the 99th Game 7 in Calder Cup playoff history. The home team’s record is 56-42 (.571), and the team that scores first is 76-22 (.776).
- This is the first time since 2014 that the Western Conference Finals has reached Game 7.
- The Eagles averaged 1.26 goals per game in the first three rounds and had a save percentage of 0.947. Trent Miner (11-5, 1.73, .929) gave up 15 goals on 148 shots against the Wolves (2.56, .899).
- colorado captain Jason Megna Missed his tenth consecutive game last night, and the Wolves lost their regular season scoring leader Felix Unger Sorum Participating in the competition for the fourth time in a row.
- Both teams scored on the power play in Game 6. Chicago is currently 5-for-18 (27.8%) in the series and Colorado is 6-for-25 (24.0%).
- The Eagles have defeated their opponents in 14 of 15 games this postseason, including all six games in this series.
The Marlies defeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in six games in the Eastern Conference finals and await tonight’s winner. Toronto won 2-1 in overtime last night to claim the Richard F. Canning Trophy.
former penguins forward Alex Nylander (5-0-5) scored at 13:44 of overtime to give the Marlies their third conference title. This was Nylander’s second career Calder Cup playoff overtime goal; in 2022, he also scored the series-clinching goal when Wilkes-Barre/Scranton eliminated Hershey in the first round.
“When I saw the puck go in, it was such a great feeling,” Nylander said. He played 142 games over three seasons with Wilkes-Barre from 2021-24. “We got better and better throughout the playoffs. Our team played great, we never gave up, and we kept believing in each other.”
easton cowan (7-6-13) also scored in Game 6, his third goal of the series and fourth in the last five games. Artur Akhtyamov (11-6, 2.12, .927) made 39 saves on the night, shutting out the Penguins for the final 67:18 of the game.
“I’m so proud of our team — the staff, the coaches, everyone from top to bottom,” Marlies captain Logan Shaw explain. “Everyone did what they had to do to get us here. We’ve been through a lot as a team, but we believe in ourselves. There’s still a lot of work to do, but it’s been a fun ride so far.”
‘It’s not easy, but it shouldn’t be easy,’ Toronto head coach says John Gruden. “We just beat a very talented team. We have to enjoy it (but) make sure we know we still have a lot of work to do.”
Quick click:
- Toronto won all three games in the Mohegan Sun Arena series to improve to 7-3 on the road in the playoffs.
- Artur Akhtyamov In the conference finals, the save percentage was .936, including a .964 save percentage in three road wins (110 shots, 106 saves).
- The Marlies’ previous two appearances in the Calder Cup finals were in 2012 (a four-game loss to Norfolk) and 2018 (a seven-game win over Texas).
- Toronto finished the regular season ranked fourth in the North Division with a record of 36-26-5-5 (82 points). Their .569 field goal percentage was the lowest among Calder Trophy finalists since Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (.538) reached the finals in 2004.
- With the Marlies’ win last night, road teams are now 12-4 in overtime games this season.
