Coachella Valley Firebirds extend win streak to 5 with 4-2 win over San Diego Gulls

Even without two top offensive players in the lineup, the Coachella Valley Firebirds kept rolling Wednesday.

The Firebirds scored three first period goals for the second time this season and never trailed in a 4-2 win over the San Diego Gulls in front of a crowd of 8,257 inside Acrisure Arena.

Earlier in the day, Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton were recalled to the Firebirds' NHL affiliate, the Seattle Kraken. The two had combined for six goals and four assists in the Firebirds' first seven games this season.

But even without them, Coachella Valley didn't miss a beat.

Coachella Valley (6-2) took the early 3-0 lead, then held onto the lead after the Gulls scored two goals in the second period to cut the deficit. The Firebirds continued their recent success on the power player, scoring the fourth goal in the third period to seal the win.

The Firebirds have now won five consecutive games and have scored 27 goals over that stretch since being shut out at home on Oct. 25.

"Starting to get into some more games, starting to get into the full of the season," Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma said, "we're starting to get into more and more of how we want to play."

Bylsma pointed to the previous game, on Nov. 4 in Bakersfield, when the Firebirds won 2-1, as the model for the kind of game Coachella Valley wants to play. He said that the Firebirds had four different shifts where they had the puck for nearly two minutes.

Wednesday was a continuation of that, with Coachella Valley controlling the puck and putting 13 shots on the goal in the first period.

"You saw, the first period especially," Bylsma said, "us playing with speed, us playing with energy, us playing in the offensive zone."

The line that included Cameron Hughes, Logan Morrison and Kole Lind was explosive. The line scored all three first period goals and the three players generated eight shots in the game. Lind and Hughes were also on the ice for the power play goal in the third period.

Hughes scored the first goal of the game, then Morrison scored the second and third. Hughes said that he had never played on a shift with Lind, who led the team in points during last season's Calder Cup playoffs, and that he enjoyed the opportunity.

On their first shift together, less than two minutes into the game, Hughes scored his first goal of the season.

"It took one shift," Hughes said about Lind with a smile, "and now he's taking all the credit for it."

Goaltender Chris Driedger recorded 25 saves in the win. In seven starts this season, Driedger has allowed 1.73 goals per game, which is fifth in the American Hockey League. His save percentage of .936 is sixth in the AHL.

The goals

1-0, Firebirds: Hughes scored the first goal of the game after Morrison and Lind flipped Hughes the puck near the Gulls’ net. Hughes did the rest.

2-0: Morrison then scored a goal of his own, at the 14:58 mark of the first period. He one-timed the puck about 10 feet from the net following passes from Hughes and Lind.

3-0: Morrison found the back of the net again four minutes later to give the Firebirds their second 3-0 first period of the season. Ville Ottavainen and Hughes assisted on the play.

3-1: Brayden Tracey put San Diego on the board with his first goal of the season, at the 4:36 mark in the second period. Andrew Agozzino assisted on the goal.

3-2: To cut the lead again, Olen Zellweger scored his second goal of the season on a power play at the 15:13 mark of the second period. Tristan Luneau assisted on the goal.

4-2: Ryker Evans scored his second goal of the season on a power play to seal the win for the Firebirds at the 6:56 mark of the third period. Max McCormick and Andrew Poturalski assisted on the goal.

Firebirds' player of the game

Morrison gets the nod in this one. The 21-year-old forward from Guelph, Ontario, a town just outside of Toronto, finished with three points in the game and either scored or assisted on the first three for the Firebirds. His second goal on Wednesday was the game-winner.

Morrison has scored three goals this season and all three of them have come in the last three games. With Wright and Winterton recalled by the Kraken, Morrison now has a chance to step into more of a critical role for the Firebirds.

"Tonight, the other guys didn't make it too hard for me," Morrison said. "When Lind got out of the pocket and gave it to Hughes, I knew he was going to kind me. Both of them are incredibly smart players. The puck is going in right now and I'm not complaining."

Ice nuggets

McCormick collects another point: After not scoring or assisting on any goals in the first three games of the season, McCormick has been on a tear. With an assist on Wednesday, the Firebirds' captain has now collected at least one point in four of the last five games. Coachella Valley is 4-0 in those games.

Dating back to last season's Calder Cup Playoffs, the Firebirds are 18-2 when McCormick has at least one point in a game.

Power play power: For the fifth consecutive game on Wednesday, the Firebirds scored on the power play. They were 1-for-4 on the man advantage and are 7-for-18 on the power play during their five-game win streak.

Coachella Valley was 1-of-9 on the power play prior to the five game win streak.

Next game

The Firebirds return to the ice on Saturday against the Calgary Wranglers inside Acrisure Arena. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m.

Coachella Valley then takes the ice 23 hours later against the Tucson Roadrunners before embarking on a three-game road trip.

Andrew John covers the Coachella Valley Firebirds for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Firebirds start fast, beat Gulls 4-2 to extend win streak