The Western Conference championship will be decided tonight as the Colorado Eagles host the Chicago Wolves in Game 7 (9:05 ET, 
).
The winner receives the Robert W. Clarke Trophy and advances to play the Toronto Marlies in the 2026 Calder Cup Finals.
Chicago came back from two goals down to beat Colorado, 3-2, in Game 6 last night, Ronan Seeley (1-1-2) scored the winning goal with 4:14 to play.
Seeley’s goal came less than three minutes later Joel Nyström (2-4-6) tied the game.
After a brief appearance of relief in Game 5, Amir Miftakhov (1-0, 1.79, .952) made his first postseason start for the Wolves last night and stopped 36 shots, including all 23 he’s faced in the last two seasons.
Wolves’ victory marked the 10th time in these competitions that a team has won a game after trailing by two goals (or more).
“We have to do a lot to add to our leadership,” the Eagles coach Mark Letestu said. “Miftakhov comes, he plays a very good game for them, but by not taking the lead he gives them a chance.”
Jack Ahcan (1-4-5) and Valtteri Puustinen (1-1-2) both scored their first goals of the playoffs to give Colorado a 2-0 lead after one period. Tristen Nielsen (10-7-17) recorded two assists – his eighth multi-point game of the postseason – to move into a tie for the league scoring lead.
Nielsen was with the Abbotsford Canucks last year when they played in Colorado and they took a 5-0 game win to take all 5 games of the Eagles in the division finals.
“Playing in front of these fans, in this rank, it’s difficult (as a guest) to get two,” said Nielsen. “When you have 20 guys willing to do anything to win a hockey game, nobody can stand in your way.”
Chicago is 3-1 all-time in AHL Game 7’s. Their last such game was a 6-5 overtime loss to Texas in the 2010 division finals. Colorado is playing Game 7 in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time.
“There is no time to talk,” added Letestu. “We have to move forward. We have a big game at home that we have achieved in a good regular season. I am happy to see our response.”
Quick Highlights:
- Tonight will be the 99th game in Calder Cup Playoff history. Home teams are 56-42 (.571), and the team that scored first is 76-22 (.776).
- This is the first time since 2014 that the Western Conference Finals have gone to a Game 7.
- After recording a 1.26 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage through the Eagles’ first three rounds, Trent Miner (11-5, 1.73, .929) allowed 15 goals on 148 shots against the Wolves (2.56, .899).
- Colorado captain Jason Megna missed his 10th game in a row last night, while the Wolves were without their regular season scoring leader Felix Unger Sörum for the fourth straight contest.
- Both teams scored on the power play in Game 6. Chicago is now 5-for-18 (27.8 percent) in the series, and Colorado is 6-for-25 (24.0 percent).
- The Eagles have outscored their opponents in 14 of 15 games this postseason, including all six of the series.
The Marlies await the winner tonight after eliminating Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in six games in the Eastern Conference finals. Toronto won the Richard F. Canning Trophy with a 2-1 overtime win last night.
Former Penguins Alex Nylander (5-0-5) scored at 13:44 of overtime to give the Marlies their third conference championship. It was Nylander’s second career Calder Cup Playoff overtime goal; also hit the series-clincher when Wilkes-Barre/Scranton knocked off Hershey in the first round in 2022.
“It was an amazing feeling when I saw the puck go in,” said Nylander, who played 142 games for Wilkes-Barre in parts of three seasons from 2021-24. “We’ve been getting better and better in every playoff game. Our team is playing well, we never give up, and we keep believing in each other.”
Easton Cowan (7-6-13) scored again in Game 6, his third goal of the series and fourth in his 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 contest.
“I’m proud of our team – the staff, the coaches, everyone from top to bottom,” captain Marlies Logan Shaw said. “Everyone did what they had to do to put us here, we have been through a lot as a team but we believe in ourselves.
“It wasn’t easy, but it shouldn’t have been easy,” said the Toronto coach John Gruden. “That’s a really talented team we just beat. We have to be excited about this (but) make sure we know there’s still a lot of work to do.”
Quick Highlights:
- Toronto won all three games at Mohegan Arena in the series, improving to 7-3 on the road this season.
- Artur Akhtyamov finished with a .936 save percentage in the conference finals, including a .964 mark (106 saves on 110 shots) in three road wins.
- The Marlies’ previous Calder Cup Finals appearances came in 2012 (a four-game loss to Norfolk) and 2018 (a seven-game win over Texas).
- Toronto finished fourth in the North Division during the regular season with a record of 36-26-5-5 (82 points). Their .569 fielding percentage is the lowest in a Calder Cup final since Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (.538) reached the final in 2004.
- With the Marlies’ win last night, road teams are 12-4 in overtime this season.
