In a gritty showdown in San Diego, the Colorado Eagles wrapped up their challenging eight-game road trip with a narrow 2-1 defeat against the San Diego Gulls. Valtteri Puustinen was the lone scorer for the Eagles, while the Gulls saw goals from Nikita Nesterenko and Tristan Luneau. Tomas Suchanek stood tall in the net for San Diego, turning away 28 of the 29 shots that came his way.
The Gulls struck first when Nesterenko, perfectly positioned in the low slot, deftly redirected a shot from the right circle to light the lamp. This marked his fourth goal of the season, giving San Diego an early 1-0 lead at 9:33 in the first period.
Both teams had their chances on the power play in the opening period but couldn’t capitalize, leaving the Gulls with a 1-0 edge heading into the first intermission.
Colorado found their equalizer on a power play in the second period. Puustinen delivered with a precise shot from between the circles, knotting the game at 1-1 at 16:58.
The deadlock persisted into the third period until a chaotic sequence in front of the Colorado net. After an initial save by Keyser, Luneau seized the moment, burying the rebound for his seventh goal of the season, pushing the Gulls ahead 2-1 at 10:18.
Desperate for a comeback, the Eagles pulled Keyser for an extra attacker in the dying moments but couldn’t find the tying goal, ultimately falling 2-1.
Keyser faced 22 shots, allowing two goals, while Colorado went 1-for-4 on the power play and maintained a perfect penalty kill, going 3-for-3.
The Eagles are set to return home for a rematch against the Gulls on Tuesday, March 17th, at 7:05 PM MT at Blue Arena. Fans eager to catch the action live can secure their tickets for the 2025-26 season by visiting ColoradoEagles.com or contacting (970) 686-SHOT (7468).