AHL announcer allegedly attacked by fan during game

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Tyler Kuehl | Last updated May 27, 2025 4:10 PM ET

During the postseason, tensions rise. Players get edgy and fans will also go a little over the top in support of their team.

One supporter supposedly went a little too far.

During Game 5 of the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division Final between the Vancouver Canucks’ primary affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, and the Colorado Eagles, the Colorado Avalanche’s top farm team, an incident occurred between Canucks broadcaster Brandon Astle and a fan supporting the home team at the Blue Center in Loveland, Colorado.

With just over a minute remaining in the first period, seemingly right after Phil Di Giuseppe gave Abbotsford a 2-0 lead, a fan reportedly got into Astle’s booth. On the broadcast, you can hear a slam before Astle noted that the fan was chirping at him.

During the next whistle, Astle said, on air, that he was “fired up,” mentioning that the fan threw a chair at him.

“What was he doing here?” Astle said. “Unreal. Have another beer.”

Watch the video below:

The announcer for the Abbotsford Canucks got attacked by a fan mid-game broadcast and the fan allegedly threw a chair at him

(h/t AggPuck-303/reddit) pic.twitter.com/qYyxShhriB
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 27, 2025

Astle took to X after the crazy event, saying that he “could have handled [it] better,” despite a weird occurrence that would’ve led any normal person to act out against an instigator. Astle wrote that the fan didn’t reflect the Eagles’ organization and that he was later found and ejected from the arena.

The fan, who is only being recognized by his X name, Ben B, claimed that Astle’s story was false across multiple social media replies. Along with writing that he ever threw a chair, assuring that it was a door slamming at the beginning of the clip, the fan replied to another comment saying that he was giving it to Astle in regard to Abbotsford goaltender Arturs Silovs supposedly knocking the net off on purpose earlier in the period.

Ben B also refuted that he was removed from the facility.

The Canucks went on to win the do-or-die game, 5-0, clinching a spot in the Western Conference Final for the first time. They will face the Dallas Stars’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, in a best-of-seven to see who will play in the Calder Cup Final.

Abbotsford is trying to become the first Canucks affiliate to move on to a championship series since the Utica Comets reached the final in 2015.

This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission.

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