LOVELAND, Colo. — The Colorado Eagles remain one of the top teams in the AHL after their weekend against the Henderson Silver Knights (VGK). With two games that saw them go to overtime, the Silver Knights were not the only thing that Colorado was fighting. Over the last week, an illness has run rampant through the locker room. It took several players out of commission, but the Eagles, like the Colorado Avalanche, found a way.

Saturday night: 2–1 overtime victory

Sean Behrens is now 22 games into his professional career with the Colorado Eagles. In that time span, Behrens has seven assists and no goals. It battled through last season, not playing a single game, with an ACL tear that robbed him of the year. Since the start of the year, Behrens has shown a lot of grit. He showed no fear in protecting his goaltender. Behrens will often end a scrum around the net without a helmet, not afraid to take on bigger forwards. He has been part of both special teams units, but has shown real improvement in his defensive game.

“Yeah, it’s been good,” said Behrens on the adjustment. “You know, a real learning experience, you know, just getting back playing after the injury, but also, you know, kind of jumping up a level from college at the same time. It’s been tough. There’s a lot of little details that really matter, but it’s been awesome. Our leadership here has been great. The coaches have been awesome. With helping me and doing whatever extra I need. I thought it’s been really good and a lot of progress so far, even though, it’s only, only Christmas.”

The Eagles kept up with the physical game that the Silver Knights play. Because of the way they constructed the roster this season, the rough play of the Silver Knights did not bother them this time around. In previous years, the Eagles were built more for speed, so the Silver Knights knocked them around. The addition of players like Alex Gagne, Taylor Makar, and Tristen Nielsen has done wonders for their confidence.

“We made a lot of bad puck plays, a lot of turnovers that fed their transition game,” said head coach Mark Letestu. They gave us all we could handle. We honestly didn’t deserve to win that one tonight, but found a way. You know, Miner he had a really good game. Power Play gets us one early, and then it’s three on three playing shinny hockey. But the actual three periods that we played tonight probably weren’t good enough to win. But that being said, You’re never going to apologize for getting two points, and maybe you don’t deserve it.”

Jack Ahcan has become one of the key defensemen for the Eagles. He is a leader on the power play and the penalty kill, using his experience gained from playing with the Avalanche earlier in the year. Ahcan is one of the smaller defensemen on the team, along with Behrens, standing just five-feet-eight-inches tall. Less than a minute into the third period, Ahcan was called for tripping. With only a second left in the penalty, Jonas Røndbjerg chipped the puck over Trent Miner’s pad to tie the game. The game would end up going to overtime, and that is where Ahcan redeemed himself. The St. Cloud State alum took one shot in the overtime period and buried the winner only 26 seconds into the frame to win it.

Sean Behrens interview December 20, 2025

Mark Letestu interview December 20, 2025

Sunday afternoon: 3–2 overtime victory

Tristan Nielsen had a scary moment during the game on Sunday. Early in the second period, Nielsen got tangled up with a player from the Silver Knights as they rushed towards the wall. The Henderson player bore the brunt of the hit, but it looked as though Nielsen could have jammed his wrists. The former Abbotsford Canuck left the game and went right down the tunnel after taking a shot on net. He returned to the game shortly before the end of the period. Nielsen has 20 points in 22 games and has been essential to the Eagles’ offense. So if he is out for any amount of time, it would be a big deal.

Luke Toporowski once again got into a groove. His fast and aggressive style of play led to a turnover in the third and a redirected goal to tie the game. Then in overtime, Toporowski and Behrens turned up the pressure to get in front of the net. It would lead to the overtime game-winning goal and Toporowski’s first multi-goal game since November 16, 2024, when he played for the Iowa Wild (MIN).

The Eagles fought through some adversity for the first time this season. They got the first goal, but Henderson pulled ahead and kept drawing penalties. This limited the chances that Colorado had to fight their way back into the game. With the win, the Eagles are now 12–4 at home, which stands as the second-best home record in the Western Conference behind the Grand Rapids Griffins (DET). Colorado is also first in the Pacific and fourth in the AHL with their 19–6–0–1 record.

Up Next

After nine days off, the Eagles will battle the Calgary Wranglers (CGY) on December 30th at 6 p.m. MT. AHLTV on FloHockey.com will stream the game.