Firebirds hold on to beat Wranglers 4-3 to tighten Pacific Division race
Coachella Valley Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma on Wednesday was about as heated as he's been at any point during his team's first two seasons in the American Hockey League. He had challenged his team following a frustrating loss to the Henderson Silver Knights, and it left open the question about how they would respond Friday.
They responded, it turns out, pretty emphatically.
The 4-3 win over the Calgary Wranglers wasn't the prettiest victory by the Firebirds this season, but it was decisive, with two of Calgary's three goals coming late in the third period. The win also showed the kind of energy and sense of urgency from the Firebirds that is needed to compete at a high level in a Pacific Division race that seems to get tighter by the day.
"Obviously, no one was happy about that game on Wednesday," Firebirds forward Shane Wright said. "Coach Dan told us how he felt and told us how we played. We knew we didn't play well."
On Friday, the Firebirds came from down a goal to score four consecutive, by Connor Carrick, Andrew Poturalski, Ville Petman and Cameron Hughes, to take a 4-1 lead.
The win moves Coachella Valley (21-12-3-1) back into a tie for third place in the division with the Ontario Reign. Both teams have 46 points this season, which is just one point behind Calgary and two points behind the Tucson Roadrunners, who lead the division.
Coachella Valley will face Ontario on Saturday for a chance to move into second place, with a Calgary tie or loss in Bakersfield. The Firebirds are in that position because of how they responded Friday.
"We were definitely the better team tonight," Wright said. "Top to bottom, we played a great game tonight. Obviously, it's a one-goal game, but I think it could've been a three, four-goal lead, just with the way we played."
With a Keith Urban concert not far away at The American Express PGA Tour golf tournament in La Quinta, the Firebirds still managed to pack Acrisure Arena on Pride Night with a crowd of 8,884.
Firebirds players said that they had a talk on Wednesday about coming out prepared every time they take the ice. It wasn't just Bylsma who was fired up after the loss to Henderson; the players say they were, too.
It was a moment that forward Marian Studenic said was significant to the direction of the season.
"We played by the game plan," said Studenic, who finished with a pair of assists Friday. "I think we played way better than the past game."
The Wranglers scored first, on a goal by blueliner Jonathan Aspirot, but from there the Firebirds rallied. At the start of the second period, they killed off back-to-back Calgary power plays, which included about 30 seconds of 5-on-3 action that favored the Wranglers.
Ian McKinnon and Jimmy Schuldt were both penalized for fighting, which seemed to energize the Firebirds, and Bylsma later referred to that stretch as the turning point in a game that could have gone differently.
"I think it's a decisive moment in the game," Bylsma said. "I thought after the kill, after the fights, our team played the way we wanted to play. The game was in our favor."
After the Firebirds made a furious effort on the forecheck to possess the puck in their offensive zone, Carrick answered for the Firebirds in the second period, when he one-timed a shot past Wranglers netminder Oscar Dansk. The crowd shot to its feet.
"We're a dangerous team any time we're coming from behind," Carrick said. "We have the ability to put up a lot of shots and take over a game."
With the score tied in the second period, Poturalski added a goal on a power play that seemed to further ignite the crowd.
Poturalski's goal also set the stage for the next two goals. In the third period, with the game's momentum in hand, Petman scored a short-handed goal before Hughes added an exclamation point with his 11th goal of the season.
Yan Kuznetsov and Rory Kerins each scored goals for the Wranglers late in the third, but the Firebirds managed to hold off Calgary in what amounted to some tense moments in the final two minutes.
The Firebirds have now won three consecutive games over the Wranglers this month and are 3-1 this season against the team with the best regular season record in the AHL last season.
Coachella Valley goalie Ales Stezka turned in another solid performance in the net. He finished the game with 25 saves and allowed three or fewer goals for the sixth time in his last seven appearances.
For the game, the Firebirds were 1-of-5 on the power play and 5-of-5 on the penalty kill.
Firebirds' player of the game
Wright, who finished the game with three assists on four of the Firebirds' goals, gets the nod here. The game marked the most single-game assists Wright has had in a Firebirds uniform, and his ability to set up teammates played a big role in the outcome of the game.
For the season, Wright, the fourth overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft, has recorded 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.
Next game
The Firebirds now hit the road for a four-game road trip that starts Saturday in Ontario against the Reign. Puck drop is 6 p.m.
"I feel like were at a point now where they're all big games," Bylsma said. "We're playing Calgary tonight, and it's a big game. It might be the 37th game of the year, and we might be ticking over the halfway mark, but it felt like it was a huge match for us tonight and that only sets up for a big game tomorrow night against Ontario.
"I think Game 38 is a pretty big match."
Coachella Valley will then travel to Henderson for a game against the Silver Knights on Wednesday, then to Cedar Park, Texas, for a pair of games against the Stars on Jan. 26 and 27.
Andrew John covers the Coachella Valley Firebirds for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrewe.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Firebirds top Wranglers, 4-3, to further tighten division race
