Firebirds set playoff scoring record in 7-5 Game 3 win over Wranglers

After scoring a single goal in Game 1 of their best-of-five Pacific Division semifinal playoff series against the Calgary Wranglers, the Coachella Valley Firebirds' offense came to life on Sunday in Game 2.

In Game 3 on Wednesday, the offensive firepower again reached another level.

In front of a home crowd of 7,581, the Firebirds scored a single-game playoff record seven goals in a 7-5 win over the Wranglers to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Marián Studenič and Max McCormick each scored a pair of goals and John Hayden, Jacob Melanson and Devin Shore also put pucks into the net for Coachella Valley.

The Firebirds can close out the series with a win in Game 4 on Friday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. inside Acrisure Arena.

"I don't think A.I. would've come up with a story for this game," Firebirds head coach Dan Byslma said. "There were a lot of twists and turns."

The Firebirds have now scored 11 goals in two games against the Wranglers, a team that allowed just four goals in its first three games in these Calder Cup Playoffs.

"Defense wins in the playoffs," Shore said. "We know that. But we have to stick to our strengths, too, and there's a belief that we can put the puck into the net."

Coachella Valley managed the win despite allowing Calgary to score three goals on the power play. The Firebirds were just 4-of-7 on the penalty kill, though they scored a short-handed goal and were 2-of-5 on the power play.

Bylsma said that the story of the game was the Firebirds playing their best 5-on-5 of the series, but allowing the game to stay close because of penalties and Calgary cashing in on the power play.

"Second period, in particular," Bylsma said, "we played like we want to play and we were in the offensive zone. We kept getting the lead and they kept scoring on the power play and made the game, I think, more interesting than it needed to be."

The Firebirds took the lead four times throughout the game. Every time the Wranglers scored, the Firebirds answered back. McCormick's empty net goal with 10 seconds remaining gave the Firebirds the seventh goal, for good measure.

The six goals allowed by Wranglers' netminder Dustin Wolf were tied for the most any team has scored on the 2023 American Hockey League MVP in the postseason. In 27 AHL playoff games, Wolf has allowed five or more goals just five times. Three of those games have been against the Firebirds.

Since scoring a single goal on Wolf in Game 1, they've now scored 10 against him in the last two games.

"He's a really good goalie," McCormick said. "His numbers speak for themselves. We just tried to get to the net, get in front of him, make it hard on him, deflect pucks and get rebounds."

McCormick added that the Firebirds made some adjustments after Game 1 that have helped them re-discover their offense.

"It feels like we're playing more like ourselves now," McCormick said.

That seems to have made all the difference.

Following Game 2's overtime victory, Coachella Valley has gone from nearly going down 0-2 in the series to now being in a position to close out the series on Friday. A potential Game 5 would be Sunday.

The winner of the series will face the Ontario Reign, who closed out the Abbotsford Canucks 3-0 on Wednesday.

"We've got a 2-1 series lead, which is great," Shore said. "Both teams are going to reset and we've got to do it again on Friday. We can draw the momentum of winning two games in a row, but we know that they're going to come hard. They're a really good team."

The goals

1-0, Wranglers. On a power play, Calgary blueliner Jonathan Aspirot scored on a tipped shot at the 5:47 mark of the first period. It was Aspirot’s first goal of the postseason. William Strömgren and Jérémie Poirier assisted on the play.

1-1. Cameron Hughes stripped the puck on the forecheck and hit Hayden with a pass in the slot for the Firebirds' first goal of the game. Hayden one-timed a shot from about 12 feet in front of the goal at the 11:20 mark of the first period.

2-1, Firebirds. Less than a minute later, Melanson wrapped the puck around the Wranglers' net and flicked it over Wolf's right shoulder for a jaw-dropping goal. Luke Henman and Gustav Olofsson assisted.

2-2. Calgary's second goal also came on a power play, with Wranglers' forward Adam Klapka scoring just six seconds after Devin Shore went to the penalty box for interference. Sam Morton and Poirier recorded assists on the play. The Wranglers began the game 2-for-2 on the power play.

3-2, Firebirds. During 4-on-4 action, Studenič gave Coachella Valley the lead back for a second time at the 6:01 mark of the second period. After a faceoff in the offensive zone, Studenič rebounded a Devin Shore shot and pushed it just past Wolf for the score.

3-3. Calgary tied the game 57 seconds into the third period, on a Poirier goal just as time expired on a Wranglers' power play. Aspirot and Strömgren assisted. It was Poirier's first goal of the postseason.

4-3, Firebirds. Studenič's second goal of the game was short-handed, and came on a breakaway following a pass by Hayden at the 6:19 mark of the third period.

4-4. Still on the power play, the Wranglers answered less than a minute later on a goal by forward Cole Schwindt to even the score a fifth time.

5-4, Firebirds. Coachella Valley took its fourth lead of the game on Shore's power play goal at the 8:16 mark of the third period. Cale Fleury and Shane Wright assisted.

6-4. McCormick's tip goal came on the same power play, at the 9:18 mark of the third period to give the Firebirds a two-goal lead.

6-5. Jakob Pelletier cut the Wrangler's deficit to a single goal at the 11:44 mark of the third period.

7-5. McCormick added an empty net goal for good measure in the closing seconds.

Firebirds' player of the game

Studenič gets the nod here. He blocked a pair of shots early, with one of those potentially saving a goal, before he fell to the ice and was eventually carried by teammates to the bench.

He scored his two goals after he returned.

"It was his best game of the year," Bylsma said. "He was blood and guts, blocking shots. He played his best game of the year for us, and that's what you need in the playoffs."

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: AHL: Firebirds' offense explodes in Game 3 playoff win over Wranglers