Coachella Valley Firebirds break through at home, get chaotic overtime win

There were two primary questions heading into Wednesday night's Coachella Valley Firebirds game against Abbotsford: Could the Firebirds get their first home win in over a month, and how would goalkeeper Jack LaFontaine do in his Firebirds debut?

After a strange series of late-game penalties and the game going into overtime, the answer to the first question was a relief-inducing "Yes." The Firebirds won 4-3, their first win at home since Nov. 8, and it came in unusual fashion.

The game went into overtime tied at 3-3, and the overtime period is usually a 3-on-3 contest, but due to a late penalty in regulation, the Firebirds had a carry-over power play so they started the overtime with a 4-on-3 advantage. Then, early in the OT, the Canucks committed another penalty giving the Firebirds a very rare 5-on-3 overtime advantage.

And Andrew Poturalski capitalized. As the Firebirds worked the puck around patiently, Poturalski zipped one just under the crossbar at the end of the 5-on-3 advantage to give the Firebirds and their fans a much-needed home win. You could feel the relief in the 7,821 Firebirds fans on hand.

The Firebirds are now 3-6-1 in 10 home games. A hard-to-explain anomaly for a team that clearly has talent, as evidenced by their remarkable 10-1 record on the road this season.

"After our game in Abbotsford on Saturday the guys were saying in the dressing room, 'It’s great to win both these games in Abbotsford, but it’s time to go and do it at home for the fans,'" said coach Dan Bylsma referring to the Firebirds' 4-2 wins on both Friday and Saturday in Abbotsford. "And we said it before the game tonight too. This game was a bit of a weird one but we gutted it out and found a way to win and finally gave the fans what they deserve."

The game was tied 2-2 heading into the third period, but it was the Canucks that took their first lead of the game within in the first minute of the final period, thanks to a power play goal by Aatu Raty, his second of the game.

But Max McCormick scored the crucial game-tying goal about eight minutes into the third period, which got the nervous crowd roaring. A flock of Firebirds faithful agonizing with every moment looking for that elusive third home win.

Then came the weird finish.

With 57.3 seconds left in a 3-3 game, the Firebirds' Connor Carrick and the Canucks' Sheldon Dries were tangled up behind the play and as they separated, Dries intentionally clipped Carrick in the face with his stick. Both players received penalty time but with Carrick bloodied the referees got together and assessed a 5-minute major and a game misconduct to Dries resulting in a three-minute man-advantage for the Firebirds. The final 57.3 seconds of the game saw the Firebirds on a 5-on-4 power play, but they did not score.

Then, going into overtime, which is supposed to be 3-on-3, to keep the Firebirds with their deserved advantage, they continued the power play with a 4-on-3 advantage. Then 20 seconds into overtime, the Canucks committed another penalty. Even Firebirds captain Max McCormick said after the game he had no idea what happens in that situation.

"I don’t think I’ve seen that. I wasn’t even sure what was going to happen on that second penalty," McCormick said. "I was like ‘So are we going to get another guy here, or what’s going on?’ I’ve never seen that before."

The refs did just that. They gave the Firebirds another man, giving them a 5-on-3 advantage. Sure enough, after all that, Poturalski scored from a tricky angle to send the Firebirds faithful home happy and end the confusing chaotic overtime.

Neither McCormick, Poturalski nor coach Bylsma could ever remember being in an AHL overtime game where a team had a 5-on-3 advantage.

"I have to check the record books I don’t recall a 5 on 3," Poturalski said. "Usually the whistles get put away when you’ve already got a one-man advantage. We were fortunate to draw one there and capitalize."

"I’m not sure I’ve seen one before like that, it was fairly chaotic at the end just trying to figure out the penalties and what they meant and there were a couple of different scenarios that could’ve played out that we were trying to figure out," Bylsma said.

LaFontaine's debut

The answer to the second question of the night regarding the debut of a new goalie for the Firebirds, the answer was "not bad at all." La Fontaine made 28 saves, including some of the A-plus variety early in the game. Two of the Canucks' goals were on the power play.

In a strange twist of fate, he had to make an amazing save, probably his best of the night, just 10 seconds into the game.

"It was a rude awakening, definitely wasn’t expecting a start like that," said LaFontaine who is no relation to NHL Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine. "I like to just battle for every inch and once. As soon as I got into the flow I let the script of the game take over and at the end of the day I wasn’t focusing too much on the result, but just focusing on the process and giving the boys a chance to win."

LaFontaine was making his 19th American Hockey League start including five games with the Syracuse Crunch last season. He is the seventh goalie in Firebirds history and it appears he will be between the pipes for a while for the Firebirds.

No. 1 goalkeeper Chris Driedger was called up to the Kraken when the Kraken's No. 1 goalie Philipp Grubauer went on the injured reserve list earlier this week. Ales Steszka, the other Firebirds goalie, suffered what the team is calling an "upper-body injury" on Dec. 2 and is still listed as day-to-day, so the job is LaFontaine's for the near future.

"He played great for us all night. Made that great save, several big saves throughout the game," McCormick said. "We knew he was going to step up. We were comfortable with him back there. He’s a pro, he knows what to do out there."

LaFontaine plays with a bit of a flair and isn't afraid to handle the puck, not unlike last year's fan favorite Joey Daccord.

"I thought he played very well and played the puck very well and we saw some shades of maybe a different number playing the puck out there and he did really good on that," Bylsma said, playfully avoiding saying Daccord's name. "I thought he was really solid in this game, a number of big saves. He stood tall against some flurries in there. We got him into the game in the first 10 seconds and he made an outstanding save. Whether I liked (the fact that we yielded such a great scoring opportunity so quickly) or not I thought it was great for him to make that save and for the guys to see him make that save."

The goals

Firebirds 1-0: Cameron Hughes, Logan Morrison and Jacob Melanson were all converging in front of the Abbotsford goalkeeper and hacking away at the puck, and it was Hughes who saw it squeak loose in his direction, so he flicked it into the net for his fifth goal of the season. The goal came less than two minutes into the game.

Tied 1-1: The Canucks used a nifty two-man game to get one past LaFontaine as Aidan McDonough dished one in front to Matt Gatcomb, who redirected into the net.

Firebirds 2-1: On a 5-on-3 power play, the Firebirds cash in. It's Andrew Poturalski whistling one over Abbotsford goalie Arturs Silovs five minutes into the second period. Shane Wright had the assist.

Tied 2-2: The Canucks respond with a power-play goal of their own as Aatu Raty finds an open spot in front of LaFontaine and beats him stick side for a tying goal.

Canucks 3-2: A penalty by Shane Wright seconds into the third period was converted into a power-play goal by the Canucks as Raty scored his second of the game, dribbling one past LaFontaine.

Tied 3-3: Captain Max McCormick with the goal of the night, whistles one from the top of the circle over the shoulder of Silovs to tie the game and spark a roar from the anxious crowd.

Firebirds win 4-3: With a rare 5-on-3 advantage in overtime, Poturalski scored his second goal of the game, ending a wild night and kicking off a celebration.

Other Firebirds goalie debuts

LaFontaine is the seventh goalie to play for the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Here is how the previous six did in their first starts. They collectively have a 6-1 record in those games if you include LaFontaine's win.

• Oct. 16, 2022: Joey Daccord's first game with the Firebirds was a 6-5 win in the regular-season opener last season at Calgary

• Oct. 28, 2022: Chris Gibson's first start with the Firebirds was a 6-4 loss to Calgary

• Oct. 29, 2022: Callum Booth's first start with the Firebirds was a 5-3 win over Calgary

• Nov. 5, 2022: Shane Starrett's one and only start for the Firebirds was a 3-1 win over Abbotsford

• Feb. 27, 2023: Chris Driedger's first game with the Firebirds was a 3-2 overtime win over San Jose

• Oct. 29, 2023: Ales Stexka's first game with the Firebirds was a 5-4 overtime win over San Jose

Ice nuggets

Goalie shuffle: With Chris Driedger called up to the Seattle Kraken and likely to stay there at least through December, and with backup Ales Stezka still sidelined with what the team is calling an "upper body injury," the Firebirds are rolling with two new goaltenders from the last time they played a home game. LaFontaine started and will be considered the No. 1 goalie for the time being. The team also called up goalie Cale Morris, who has played 13 games for the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL this season.

Injury report: Joining Stezka on the sideline due to injury is Ville Petman who is listed by the team as "day-to-day with a lower-body injury." In case you haven't figured it out, hockey teams are not required to be specific about injuries. A hangnail and a concussion are both "upper body injuries." A broken fibula and a stubbed toe are both "lower body injuries."

Next up

The Firebirds (13-7-1) will remain at home for a pair of games this weekend. Coachella Valley hosts Bakersfield at 6 p.m. on Saturday and Colorado at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Have a question about the Firebirds? Shoot him an e-mail at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella Valley Firebirds break through at home for chaotic overtime win