Firebirds bounce back with dominant 6-1 victory over the Silver Knights
One night after the Coachella Valley Firebirds played one of their worst games during a recent streak of success, they weren’t about to let that happen at home again Sunday evening.
The Henderson Silver Knights ran into a Coachella Valley team who needed a redemption game, and the Firebirds bounced back in dominant fashion with a 6-1 victory in front of a packed arena.
“Last night was frustrating. We were not happy with that effort obviously,” said captain Max McCormick. “It was nice to have a quick game right after that to get that one out of the system and bounce back. And we did that.”
The Firebirds continue to sit atop the Pacific Division and have now won 14 of their last 20 games as one of the hottest teams in the AHL.
The Firebirds took an early 1-0 lead 4:37 into the first period. Cameron Hughes scored on a beautiful shot that hit the top left corner of the net to set the tone early. That score got a massive roar of cheers from a packed Acrisure Arena as the Firebirds kept their foot on the gas. Ales Stezka shined early on in the net, compiling multiple saves and keeping the Silver Knights off the board as they entered the second period up 1-0.
The second period is where the Firebirds turned on the jets. With 14:50 left in the period, the Firebirds were still up 1-0, but by the time there was 12:10 left in the period they were up 4-0. Coachella Valley scored three times in about three minutes of play, courtesy of Jimmy Schultz and Max McCormick, who scored twice.
The Silver Knights would get on the board in the final period, but the Firebirds responded with two goals of their own to win the game 6-1.
“Last night we got sloppy, we got away from our game,” said McCormick. “Tonight we were executing, making plays. Our decision making and our execution was just better tonight.”
The goals
1-0 Firebirds: Five minutes into the first period, Cameron Hughes controlled the puck in front of the net and fit it into the top left corner to score the Firebirds first point of the game. Assisted by Ryan Winterton and Mitch Reinke.
2-0 Firebirds: Early into the second period, Andrew Poturalski had a phenomenal pass that went through the legs of a defender, finding Max McCormick on the left side of the net, who had an easy shot to put the Firebirds ahead 2-0. Assisted by Andrew Poturalski and Ville Ottavainen.
3-0 Firebirds: There was a scrum at the Silver Knights net, where Jimmy Schuldt tipped a pass in for the goal to make it 3-0 Firebirds. Assisted by Ville Ottavainen and Devin Shore.
4-0 Firebirds: Cale Fluery skated around the back of the net before passing it to Max McCormick, who tipped the puck into the net to extend the lead to 4-0. Assisted by Cale Fleury and Jacob Melanson.
4-1: Mason Geertsen stole the puck and scored midway through the final period during a Firebirds power play. Unassisted.
5-1 Firebirds: Jimmy Schuldt scored his second goal of the game with six minutes left in the final period. Assisted by Ville Ottavainen and Andrew Poturalski.
6-1 Firebirds: Marian Studenic scored in the final minute of the game. Assisted by Peetro Seppala and Jacob Melanson.
Firebirds’ player of the game
The captain, Max McCormick, gets the nod for this one. He scored twice in the blowout in the span of three minutes, brining his total on the year to 23, which is fifth in the AHL. Every jersey given out to the kids before the game was a Max McCormick one so talk about a night to deliver.
Ice nuggets
Kids day: Kids filed into Acrisure Arena to watch the Firebirds on a day that was all for them. Jerseys were handed out to many of the children, fun games were played, skits were done on the video board, and there were tons of fun activities for the junior Firebirds who came to watch.
What’s next?
The Firebirds head to San Jose to face the Barracuda on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: AHL hockey: Firebirds score three times in three minutes to beat Henderson 6-1
