Firebirds fall 3-2 to Roadrunners before sold-out crowd inside Acrisure Arena
The Coachella Valley Firebirds had little to play for Wednesday evening, and at times it showed, even in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,087 inside Acrisure Arena.
While the 3-2 loss to the Tucson Roadrunners felt meaningless, it meant something to the Roadrunners, who are still playing for second place and playoff seeding in the American Hockey League's Pacific Division.
But the Firebirds, who had already clinched the division title and home ice throughout the Western Conference in the upcoming Calder Cup Playoffs, were adamant that the game also held meaning to them.
"I think these are just super important to keep good habits," Firebirds blueliner Jimmy Schuldt said. "I think (these games) are kind of about the process, not necessarily about the results. But every time you put the skates on, you want to win."
The Firebirds (45-15-6-4) had an opportunity to do that late in the game, after blueliner Connor Carrick scored a goal to cut the Firebirds' deficit to a single goal with fewer than two minutes to play. The Firebirds made efforts to send the game to overtime, but missed three shots in the final seconds that would have done that.
The Firebirds outshot the Roadrunners 28-14 in the first two periods and had their opportunities to take the lead multiple times throughout the game.
But in a rare game where the outcome didn't carry a lot of meaning, the Firebirds were unable to capitalize on several good looks at the net.
"We had plenty of good opportunities to score goals in the first two periods," Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma said. "But, I think the guys, almost to a man, played really well for almost all of this game."
The Firebirds outshot the Roadrunners 38-26 in the game. Coachella Valley was 0-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Netminder Chris Driedger recorded 35 saves in the game.
"We've accomplished the goal of being first," Bylsma said. "We've accomplished the goal of getting the bye in the first round. But we still want to feel good about ourselves and still feel good about the way we're playing as a team with this game and the next two games."
The Firebirds will now look to regain some momentum with two final regular season games against the San Diego Gulls. They'll play at San Diego on Saturday before the two teams travel back to the Coachella Valley for the Firebirds' regular season home finale on Sunday. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. The game is already sold out.
Coachella Valley will then be on a weeklong break with a first round playoff bye before starting their quest for the Calder Cup title that narrowly eluded the Firebirds last season. The Firebirds lost Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals at home last year in overtime to the Hershey Bears.
Bylsma and his team are now gearing up to remedy that with what they hope will be another big postseason run.
The goals
1-0, Roadrunners: Right winger Hunter Drew put the Roadrunners on the board first, at the 6:28 mark of the first period. It was his ninth goal of the season.
1-1: Rookie forward Ryan Winterton scored his 22nd goal of the season a minute later to even the score. Fellow rookies Jacob Melanson and Shane Wright assisted on the play.
2-1, Roadrunners: Drew scored his second goal of the game on a rebound with little more than four minutes to play in the second period. The goal followed a shot by teammate Victor Söderström that bounced off Driedger’s pads.
3-1: Right winger Reece Vitelli added a third goal — his first of the season — to give the Roadrunners a two-goal cushion with just under 10 minutes to play in the game.
3-2: With 1:28 remaining in the game, blueliner Connor Carrick scored to cut the Firebirds' deficit. Kole Lind and Max McCormick assisted on the play.
Firebirds' player of the game
Winterton gets the nod here. In addition to his goal, which kept the Firebirds in the game throughout, Winterton managed to fire off four shots on the net and nearly added another goal on one of them.
That game was just the second for Winterton, 20, since returning from a stint with the NHL's Seattle Kraken. Though he didn't play a ton during the stint, he said that that experience was valuable. One can't help but wonder what it's done for the confidence of a goal scorer who is entering his first postseason as a pro.
"I think that was good coming back," Winterton said. "Maybe having a bit more time and patience with the puck. It all factors in to coming back."
Ice nuggets
Tickets for the Calder Cup Playoffs are now on sale. The Firebirds will have a first round bye but are expected to begin the postseason after April 28. Tickets can be purchased here.
Seven teams from the AHL's Pacific Division will appear in the playoffs, and the Firebirds will face the lowest seed that makes it to the second round.
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: With home ice clinched, Firebirds fall to Roadrunners, 3-2
