Firebirds rally to sweep Reign with 3-2 win in Ontario; clinch Pacific Division title
May 19 is starting to mean something to the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
It was a year ago on that date that the Firebirds won the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division championship in their inaugural season. On Sunday, exactly one year to the day, the Firebirds again claimed the division championship.
This time it came in a 3-2 win over the Ontario Reign inside Toyota Arena in Ontario, with the Firebirds erasing a two-goal deficit to rally for the win.
"It just produces belief in the guys that you're never out of it," Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma said.
The Firebirds will now face the winner of the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Milwaukee Admirals in the Western Conference Finals. The schedule for that seven-game series is to be determined but will begin with a pair of games inside Acrisure Arena.
With Ontario playing with its back against the wall in an elimination game, Coachella Valley still somehow managed to score three unanswered goals to end the best-of-five series in a sweep.
Firebirds forward Kole Lind scored Coachella Valley’s first goal, with blueliner Jimmy Schuldt adding a second in a huge second period that tied that game entering the second intermission.
Then, early in the third period, Lind added a second goal to give Coachella Valley its first lead of the game, which the Firebirds did not relinquish.
"Second period, I think we just needed one bounce," Lind said, "and I think you could see the confidence build as a group from there. We knew what was going to happen, we knew we were going to dominate and I think that's a really dangerous thing for us once we get into that cycle and get rotating through the lines in the offensive zone."
Coachella Valley had the best road penalty kill percentage in the AHL this season, and the final two minutes showed why. The Firebirds killed off a penalty in the final two minutes of the game to preserve the lead, playing 4-on-6 after Ontario pulled goalie Erik Portillo.
Bylsma said that he counted six or seven blocked by the Firebirds during that final two minutes.
"We had our guys just laying their bodies on the line", Firebirds goalie Chris Driedger said. "It's was what playoff hockey is all about, so shoutout to those guys. A coupe of them hit me, a couple hit the guys and we were able to get the job done."
The win gave the Firebirds their sixth consecutive win in these Calder Cup Playoffs. It also gave Coachella Valley its first playoff series sweep in franchise history.
Driedger recorded 22 saves in the game. Coachella Valley was 0-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Hundreds of Firebirds fans, most wearing red Firebirds shirts and jerseys, were among the 8,533 inside the arena on Sunday. Bylsma said that he could hear them celebrating after Firebirds goals and chanting Driedger's name after some of his big saves.
"We've traveled well this year to Ontario, but I'm not sure we traveled as well as we did tonight," Bylsma said. "It was great to hear the chants in the game coming from our fans. That might be one of the most infuriating things for the opposition, when our fans are chanting "Driedger!" A couple moments in the third period it was the red fans bringing the energy. It was great to see."
The goals
First period
1-0, Reign. Ontario forward Alex Turcotte scored the first goal of the night, at the 6:17 mark of the period, to give the Reign the early lead.
2-0. Tyler Madden then scored at the 13:05 mark of the period to give Ontario the 2-0 lead.
Second period
2-1. Lind scored his first goal at the 5:41 mark of the period, on an assist from Max McCormick and Ville Ottavainen, to cut the deficit to a single goal.
2-2. Schuldt then scored at the 11:37 mark of the period, on assists from Luke Henman and Jacob Melanson, to tie the game.
Third period
3-2, Firebirds. On the first shift of the third period, Lind scored his second goal of the game just 46 seconds in. The Firebirds forced a turnover on the forecheck and forward Andrew Poturalski flicked the puck to Lind, who was waiting in front of the Ontario goal.
Firebirds' player of the game
Lind gets the nod here, because he scored two goals, including the game-winner. If that's not enough, it's worth noting that Lind was the main agitator and instigator for the Firebirds early in the game, getting into scuffles and frustrating the Reign even before the Firebirds turned the Ontario lead on its head.
Lind had not scored in the first three games of the series, but there could not have been a better time for him to have his best game of the postseason.
Ice nuggets
Wright out but doing well: The Firebirds were without rookie forward Shane Wright, who sustained a lower body injury on a hit by Reign forward Hayden Hodgson in Game 2 on Friday. The AHL suspended Hodgson for two games.
Bylsma said that Wright is "doing pretty well" and tried to play in Sunday's game. Henman stepped into the lineup in Wright's absence.
Andrew John covers the 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 erase two-goal deficit to sweep Reign 3-2 in Calder Cup Playoffs
