Firebirds Advance to Round Two in 2-1 Series Win

The second-seeded Coachella Valley Firebirds took on the seventh-seeded Tucson Roadrunners in a best-of-three series to start their 2022-23 postseason. With the Firebirds being the second placed team in the division and league, they were definitely the favourites going into the series. While this series went all three games, the favourites took it home and the Firebirds won two games to one. Here’s what happened.

Game 1

The Firebirds earned home ice advantage for their first ever playoff game on. The crowd really fired them up and helped them get things going early, scoring exactly a minute into the game on an early power play. Max McCormick was the goal scorer on the Firebirds’ first playoff goal.

7:49 into the first period, Coachella Valley scored again with a goal by Alexander True. About a minute and a half later, Kole Lind scored the third goal of the frame and the Firebirds were quickly up 3-0 before the period was even half over.

There wasn’t any scoring through the second half of the period, but the Firebirds made it 4-0 with a power play goal 8:03 into the second period. This was scored by McCormick, who had his second power play goal of the game. That was the only goal through two periods as the Firebirds went into the third with a very comfortable goal cushion.

In the third, the Firebirds continued to hold their lead, adding an empty-net goal 16:19 into the final frame. The Roadrunners had pretty much accepted their fate by then, but were able to tack on a goal to rob Joey Daccord of a shutout with 1:17 to go in the game. 

That wrapped things up for Game 1, and Coachella Valley took a 1-0 series lead with a 5-1 win. 

Game 2

With their backs against the wall and on the edge of elimination, the Tucson Roadrunners had only one objective in Game 2 — to win. The Friday, April 21 match-up got off to a great start for Tucson with three goals in the first period. Colin Theisen started things off with a goal 6:54 into the game, then Michael Carcone scored a power play goal just past the midway mark of the first. Milos Keleme closed up the first period scoring 15:07 in, giving the Roadrunners a 3-0 lead.

In the second period, the Firebirds struck early on the power play with a goal from Jimmy Schuldt. The Roadrunners answered back quickly with a goal 1:11 later from Carcone. his second marker of the game. That was the only scoring through two periods of play. 

In the third, the Firebirds started making a comeback and almost made it all the way there. Tye Kartye scored on the power play 10:01 into the third, the Jeremy McKenna scored with just over two and a half minutes to go in regulation. Coachella Valley wouldn’t get enough momentum back to secure another goal and Tucson took Game 2 by a score of 4-3, forcing an all-decisive Game 3.

Around The AHL

• Wranglers End Season in Series Loss to Firebirds
• Wranglers Advance, Set To Play Coachella Valley This Week
• Eagles Lose Game 5, Eliminated From Playoffs
• Expanded AHL Playoffs Don’t Quite Pay Off
• Firebirds Tie Series on True’s Shorthanded Stunner

Game 3

Game 3 took place on Sunday, April 23 as the only game on in the AHL. The series was the only one in the Pacific to force a third game, and the Firebirds took care of the Roadrunners pretty early in the game. In the first period, Coachella Valley scored four goals in less than four minutes to take a very early 4-0 lead. After goal number four, Ivan Prosvetov was pulled and Tyler Parks came in relief between the pipes. 

The first goal was scored by Ville Petman 3:49 into the game. The next goal came from Shane Wright at 5:56 of the first. Then, Lind scored 6:25 into the game. Finally, 7:22 into the first period, Kartye added the fourth unanswered goal for Coachella Valley.

There was no scoring in the second, but the Firebirds made it a 5-0 game with another goal by Lind at 10:52 of the third period. The Roadrunners had nothing left to lose at this point and pulled their goalie with over 11 minutes to go in the game. This would pay off to earn them one goal, but not enough to claw all the way back from their five-goal deficit. Adam Cracknell scored the last goal of the season for Tucson as the last game of this series ended in a Coachella Valley 5-1 win.

What’s Next?

Unfortunately for Tucson, the next steps include locker clean out and their choice of offseason plans. The Firebirds, on the other hand, will continue their journey in the competition for the Calder Cup. They’ll face the Colorado Eagles in a best-of-five series starting on Wednesday, April 26 in Loveland, CO. Game 2 will also take place in Colorado (Thursday, April 27) before the series shifts back to Palm Desert, CA for Game 3 on Sunday, April 30. If needed, Game 4 will take place on Wednesday, May 3 and Game 5 on Friday, May 5 (also in California).