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NHL fans know playoff hockey hits different thanks to the passion you’ll be treated to both on and off the ice in the postseason. That’s apparently also the case in the AHL based on a wild moment where a spectator threw a chair at a visiting broadcaster who managed to stay remarkably calm after it unfolded.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are currently in full swing as the last four teams in the hunt continue to vie for a spot in the finals, and over the long weekend, we learned which quartet of AHL clubs will be facing off in the conference finals in their quest to secure the Calder Cup.
Three of the best-of-five series that were used to firm up the picture were hard-fought battles that went the distance—including the showdown between the Abbotsford Canucks and the Colorado Eagles, who faced off in Game 5 on the latter’s ice on Sunday.
The Canucks ended up cruising to victory with a 5-0 win on the road in a game where they scored a couple of goals in quick sucession in the first period and never looked back—a development that did not sit well with one Eagles fan who took out his frustration on Abbotsford play-by-play guy Brandon Astle.
The two teams were facing off at center ice in the wake of that second tally when Astle provided viewers with a blow-by-blow of the scene that unfolded where he was sitting courtesy of a “yahoo” who grabbed the broadcaster’s chair and threw it at him; there was no video of the incident, although you could hear a thudding sound that was presumably the seat in question landing after being hurled.
ummm @brandon_astle, are you good? 😮 pic.twitter.com/pat9y1b683
— Lizz Child (@LizzChild) May 26, 2025
Astle was understandably rattled but still managed to keep his composure after the chair hit him in the leg. He also said the fan in question was kicked out of the game in a tweet where he asserted he “could have handled this better,” but I think he’s selling himself short.