Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. Ontario Reign: Facts, stats and a prediction
The Coachella Valley Firebirds survived an early scare from the Calgary Flames, but after playing one of its best games of the year in the closeout Game 4, it's onto the AHL's Pacific Division Final to face the Ontario Reign.
The Firebirds' nearest rivals have been hot this postseason, sweeping their two opening series. The eight-game regular season series between the Firebirds and Flames was an even split at 4-4. The most recent game between the two teams was a contentious 3-1 Firebirds win on April 10 that featured multiple skirmishes and one full-blown fight.
This has become a full-fledged rivalry.
"They're a good team. Going to be a good battle, both buildings will be loud and this is the most fun time of year," said Firebirds forward Cameron Hughes after Friday's series-clinching win. "I know how our fans are and how they travel. I think there's been some 'Let's go Firebirds' chants in Ontario, and hopefully we hear that again."
Firebirds forward Devin Shore said he's looking forward to a date with the Reign.
"Definitely looking forward to the travel. That's a nice bonus to not have to get on a plane, and they're cooking right now, too, so should be a great series," Shore said. "And the temperature gets turned up a little bit more each round of the playoffs. We have to reset, but there's no reason for us not to be confident in the way we're playing coming in."
Here's a closer look at the best-of-five series matchup that begins Wednesday night at Acrisure Arena.
The schedule
Wednesday, May 15: Ontario at Coachella Valley, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 17: Ontario at Coachella Valley, 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 19: Coachella Valley at Ontario, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 24: Coachella Valley at Ontario, 7 p.m. (If nec.)
Sunday, May 26: Ontario at Coachella Valley, 3 p.m. (If nec.)
Playoff path
Firebirds: Had a bye in the first round and defeated Calgary 3-1 in the second round
Reign: Defeated Bakersfield 2-0 in the first round and Abbotsford 3-0 in the second round
Regular season
Firebirds: Finished with a 46-15-6-5 record, for 103 points and the No. 1 seed in Pacific Division
Reign: Finished with a 42-23-3-4 record, for 91 points, the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division
Head-to-head
Season series: The teams split the eight-game regular-season series 4-4. ... Notably, the road team won six of the eight games. ... Ontario outscored the Firebirds 19-17 in the eight games. ... Coachella Valley won three of the last four games, including a 3-1 win in their most recent meeting April 10.
Oct. 21: Ontario wins 1-0 at Acrisure
Nov. 21: Ontario wins 6-0 at Acrisure
Dec. 1: Coachella Valley wins 2-0 at Ontario
Dec. 2: Ontario wins 4-3 in overtime at Acrisure
Jan. 20: Coachella Valley wins 4-2 at Ontario
Feb 23: Ontario wins 2-1 in overtime at Ontario
March 15: Coachella Valley wins 4-3 in shootout at Ontario
April 10: Coachella Valley wins 3-1 at Acrisure
Names to know
Here are four key players to the Reign's success:
TJ Tynan: The talented forward is the most dangerous offensive player, but he does it with the assist more than the goal. He led the Reign with 66 points, including a remarkable 57 assists to go with nine goals.
Samuel Fagemo: The forward led the team with 43 goals, the second most in the AHL, but has only scored one in five postseason games. For comparison, Max McCormick led the Firebirds with 32 goals.
Taylor Ward: Not to be confused with the Shadow Hills baseball star now on the Angels of the same name, Ward is a versatile player for the Reign. He had by far the team's best +/- during the regular season at +23 and has had a good playoff with two goals and three assists in five games.
Erik Portillo: The Reign goalkeeper has been sharp in the postseason, allowing just six goals in five games. That follows a regular season that saw him go 24-11-3 with a goals-against average of 2.50, which was only 13th in the AHL among qualifying goalies, finishing behind both Firebirds' netminders Chris Driedger (2.26) and Ales Stezka (2.48).
Inside the numbers
0: Number of losses by the Ontario Reign in this year's postseason. The Reign are 5-0 and are the only AHL team not to lose a Calder Cup playoff game yet, outscoring their opponents 19-6 in those games.
1: The Ontario Reign, formerly the Manchester Monarchs, have existed for 22 years since 2001 and have made the Calder Cup final once, winning in 2015 as the Monarchs. The next season the team moved from Manchester, New Hampshire to Ontario. The team has not made it back to the final since, though they did make the semifinal in their first year of existence in 2015-16. This marks the first time the Reign have made it past the first round since that inaugural year.
5-1: The Firebirds usually start fast in a playoff series. The Firebirds are 5-1 in the opening game of their six playoff series since their inception last year. The one exception was the just-completed series against Calgary.
80: Number of miles from Acrisure Arena to Toyota Arena in Ontario
The prediction
Firebirds in 5: If ever a series looked on paper like it was going the distance, it's this one. Both teams have well-earned confidence heading in. They split their season series. Both teams have won multiple games at the other team's building. But having seen the Firebirds play one of their most complete games of the season on Friday, it feels like they are hitting their stride and are fully into this year's postseason. I feel like the Firebirds have an edge at goaltender and with Game 5 at home, I'm taking the Firebirds in a classic series.
Shad Powers covers the Coachella Valley Fireibirds for The Desert Sun. Have a question about the team or the playoffs? Shoot him a message at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. Ontario Reign: Preview and a prediction
