The top 10 moments from the Coachella Valley Firebirds' unforgettable inaugural season

The Coachella Valley Firebirds have concluded one of the most unforgettable debut seasons in professional hockey, with the first-year team reaching overtime in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals. It was the first Game 7 overtime of an American Hockey League championship series since 1953, and came after the Firebirds became the first team to post back-to-back shutouts to open a Calder Cup Final since 1939.

The 2022-23 season included just about everything one could imagine from a team, in any sport, in its inaugural season. It began with 22 games on the road while Acrisure Arena was being completed and involved unofficial home games in Seattle in October, then the arena opening in the Coachella Valley in December.

The Firebirds’ season featured all-stars, a host of NHL call-ups and subsequently one historic NHL goal, the league's rookie of the year, two players on the six-man all-rookie team, the league's second-best record during the regular season and the beginnings of a raging fanbase in the California desert. It included a league-record 26 playoff games in one season, a record for postseason home attendance, 13 game-winning walk-off goals — including two in the playoffs and one to clinch a series.

Before the curtains go down on a season that won't soon be forgotten, let's take a look back. Everyone will have their favorite moments from the season, but here are ours. We broke it down to our top 10:

10. Luke Henman scores lone goal in Teddy Bear Toss game

For those unfamiliar, the Teddy Bear Toss is a popular, longstanding tradition in hockey. The 29-year Christmas tradition is especially popular with minor league hockey teams. The Teddy Bear Toss originated with the Kamloops Blazers, a British Columbia junior hockey team, in 1993. More than 2,400 teddy bears were tossed onto the ice and the tradition began to spread through Canada and around the world.

The Firebirds' Teddy Bear Toss game this season came on Dec. 23 inside Acrisure Arena. All the Firebirds had to do was score a single goal and all the teddy bears brought to the game by fans would be tossed onto the ice.

But for nearly three periods of hockey, there was some concern that the Firebirds could actually be shut out of their own Teddy Bear Toss game against the Henderson Silver Knights.

The anticipation for the game’s first goal, and the thousands of teddy bears that would follow, kept rising throughout the night. Each time a Coachella Valley player would secure the puck in a position to score, the crowd seemed to collectively inhale with excitement. When the shot would miss, the exhale seemed to only heighten the game’s intensity and the crowd’s anxiety.

Finally, with 6:23 remaining in the game, Firebirds left winger Luke Henman, a Nova Scotia native, collected the puck near the Henderson goal on a pass from teammate Max McCormick, faked out a defender and then squeezed it past Silver Knights goaltender Jiri Patera and into the net. Patera made 30 saves in the game, but was unable to stop Henman's lone shot on the night.

The crowd of 8,631 shot to its feet with a roar and 7,278 teddy bears were tossed onto the ice.

"He saw me and made a great pass," Henman said of McCormick. "He feathered it through two guys."

Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma gave Henman the bulk of the credit.

"Luke shouldn’t give Max too much credit," Bylsma said. "He made a great move on the defenseman, pulled it in there and broke free and stuffed it. It was a great goal.”

9. Kole Lind scores third walk-off goal of the season

Of all the clutch plays and crucial goals scored this year for the Firebirds, Lind had his share. And on April 2 inside Acrisure Arena, the 24-year-old from Swift Currant, Saskatchewan, solidified his status as one of the most clutch players in the AHL.

The 3-2 overtime win over the Colorado Eagles marked the third time this season that Lind ended a game with a walk-off goal. It was just the latest in a series of Lind’s late-game heroics.

Lind ended a home game against the San Jose Barracuda on Jan. 10 with a goal in a shootout. He then won another home game versus the Barracuda with an overtime goal on Feb. 28.

On April 2, when the Eagles sent the game into overtime on a goal with 12.6 seconds remaining in regulation, the stage was again set for Lind to play the hero.

During his first shift in overtime, Lind took the puck and shot it wide of the goal before coming to the bench. He then called his shot to Bylsma.

“He said that if he gets back out there, ‘I’m going to get it for you,’” Bylsma said. “Not for me, for the team.”

Lind was true to his word, scoring on the following shift, then waving his arms like a bird with his favorite celebration.

"I love to be out there for those key moments," Lind said. "Whenever I get a chance in overtime, I'm definitely looking to put it into the back of the net."

8. Opening night at Acrisure Arena

After nearly four years of anticipation, the Coachella Valley Firebirds played their first game inside Acrisure Arena on Dec. 18, 2022. A sold-out crowd greeted players after they had started their inaugural season with their first 22 games on the road, including four unofficial home games in Seattle and Everett, Washington.

It was the start of a love affair between the fans and the Firebirds, with a crowd of 9,918 filling the $500 million arena.

Before a 4-3 win over the Tucson Roadrunners, the lights dimmed for player introductions. One by one, players skated through two pillars of fire shot straight up as they were introduced. The crowd roared. Fans rattled on spirit sticks that glowed red in the darkness.

“The team, the guys, all of us had a huge anticipation of opening up this building and getting in here, but I don’t think we were prepared for what we came out for,” said Bylsma, the head coach. “The light show, the fans going crazy. It felt like a playoff-type atmosphere. I think it energized our guys and I thought it was unparalleled. I don’t think I’ve seen an American Hockey League game like that.”

The historic first goal in the arena was scored by Cameron Hughes, an unlikely candidate considering it was just his second of the season.

On a power play with 8:49 to play in the first period, Hughes weaved through two defenders and snuck the puck past Roadrunners goaltender Jon Gillies. Jesper Frödén and Brogan Rafferty assisted on the play.

"It was pretty special," Hughes said. "To start the year with two months on the road and come back to a full building with all that energy, just the buzz around the city, I don't know if I've ever been a part of something like that."

7. Firebirds rally from three-goal deficit to beat Ontario Reign

On Dec. 28 inside Acrisure Arena, the Firebirds entered a game on three days of rest, without much practice during the holidays, and the rust immediately showed. The Firebirds fell behind by three goals before an explosive final period that sent a sold-out crowd of 10,087 inside the arena into a frenzy.

The 7-6 comeback win over the Firebirds' rivals, the Ontario Reign, may have been the best regular-season game in the Coachella Valley this season.

At one point, the Firebirds were behind 5-2, but Coachella Valley outscored Ontario 5-1 the rest of the way, with Hughes, Tye Kartye, Jimmy Schuldt and McCormick each scoring goals before Andrew Poturalski added the game-winner with 1:09 remaining in regulation.

The Firebirds had not held the lead until that final minute.

“You look up and it’s 5-3, then 6-4, and you think it’s out of reach,” Bylsma said. “But I think the guys, the whole game but especially the last two periods, played like, ‘Hey, we’re not going to be denied.’”

On the final goal, Poturalski wrapped the puck around the net and managed to get it past Ontario goaltender Cal Peterson.

"I took the time in space and drove the net and tried to get guys to come to me," Poturalski said. "I just wrapped it around and got it in front of the net and good things happened. It got a good bounce, and I was really fired up that it went in."

Firebirds goaltender Joey Daccord allowed all six goals before being replaced by backup Christopher Gibson in the final period. Gibson did not allow a goal and made 11 saves in the final period.

"The whole game was a roller coaster of emotions," McCormick said. "We were definitely feeding off the fans. You could feel the momentum and the chances we were getting.

"I don't think we lost belief at any point in the game that we could come back and win."

6. Tye Kartye wins rookie of the year, scores goal in first NHL game

Kartye had perhaps the most memorable season of all of the Firebirds, and that is really saying something. It was a fairytale of a season, that began with the 22-year-old forward from Kingston, Ontario, being somewhat of an afterthought as an NHL prospect. It ended with Kartye winning AHL rookie of the year honors while also establishing himself a a bonafide NHL player.

The story that best illustrates how that happened took place in Denver, with Kartye becoming just the eighth player since 1927 to score his first NHL goal in his first NHL game while in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In his first professional hockey season, Kartye got off to a slow start, scoring a single goal in his first 18 games with the Firebirds as the team played their first 22 games away from Acrisure Arena while the new facility was being completed.

After settling in and finding his confidence, Kartye quickly became a star. He was named the AHL rookie of the month in March and eventually named the AHL rookie of the year, scoring 28 goals and adding 29 assists during the regular season.

He was recalled by the Kraken for the Stanley Cup Playoffs to fill in for leading scorer Jared McCann, who was injured in Game 4 of their series versus the Colorado Avalanche. Meanwhile, Kartye's parents made the 1,600-mile trip from their home in Canada with less than 12 hours notice.

His parents, Todd and Richelle, made it to the game just in time for their son's historic goal, and the moment was captured on ESPN's SportsCenter.

5. Alexander True scores short-handed goal to keep season alive

With the Firebirds' season hanging in the balance in the second round of the playoffs, forward Alexander True sprung into action to provide a goal that will go down as one of the most important of Coachella Valley's season.

The Firebirds trailed in their series versus the Colorado Eagles, 2-1, and needed to win both Games 4 and 5 to advance and keep their season alive. But with the score tied and the Eagles on a power play inside of three minutes to play in Game 4, the outcome looked bleak for Coachella Valley.

After gaining a 2-0 lead in the first period, the Firebirds blew the lead and allowed the Eagles to tie the game early in the third period. Lind was then called for holding with two minutes and 45 seconds remaining, putting Coachella Valley into a penalty kill situation and forcing his squad to play for two minutes while being outmanned.

But an errant pass allowed Firebirds forward Carsen Twarynski to break away on a 2-on-1 with the puck. Twarynski dished the puck to True, a 6-foot-5 forward from Denmark who skated just in front of the Colorado goal and at the last moment fired it past Eagles goaltender Jonas Johansson. The home crowd of 7,343 erupted.

The Firebirds then won Game 5 in decisive fashion to take the series and advance to play the Calgary Wranglers.

4. Joey Daccord records back-to-back shutouts in Calder Cup Finals

Bylsma said all season that Daccord, his 26-year-old goaltender, was probably Coachella Valley's best player. It felt like a particularly accurate statement when Bylsma continued saying it during the postseason.

Daccord, who keeps his mind sharp with the help of virtual reality training, upped his game even more during the postseason. In the Pacific Division Finals against the Wranglers, the AHL’s top regular season team, Daccord allowed three fewer goals in the five-game series than league MVP Dustin Wolf. In two games against Calgary, Daccord kept the Wranglers from scoring the game-winning walk-off goal.

Then, in the Calder Cup Finals, Daccord did something that hadn't been done in the league in 84 years: He opened the Finals with consecutive shutouts, becoming the first goalie to do that since 1939. In those two games, which came in front of sell-out home crowds of 10,087, Daccord also recorded 58 saves.

By the end of each game, the chants for "Joey! Joey! Joey!" echoed throughout the arena.

"We have a lot of good players," Bylsma said following the Game 2 shutout, "but I think Joey's our MVP and he was rock solid tonight and has been rock solid the first few games."

3. Andrew Poturalski returns, scores game-winner to oust Wranglers

Poturalski, the 2019 Calder Cup Finals MVP, was expected to be out for the season with a left leg injury he suffered in late January. But the veteran center worked his way back ahead of the projected timeline and took the ice with the Firebirds for Game 3 of the Pacific Division Finals against the Calgary Wranglers.

The timing couldn't have been better.

Four nights later, with the series on the line in a winner-take-all Game 5, Poturalski scored what may have been the goal of the season for the Firebirds.

With Coachella Valley trailing by a goal in the third period, Firebirds forward Jeremy McKenna scored his second goal of the night to send the game to overtime.

Seven minutes into overtime, Poturalski jumped off the bench just as Calgary turned the puck over. Frödén brought the puck down the ice on a 3-on-2 break, fired the puck to Poturalski, who was calling for it, and Poturalski let it rip as hard as he could toward the goal.

"That was an absolute laser, top shelf," Daccord said.

Once the goal went in, pandemonium ensued.

The goal ended the Wranglers' season and sent the Firebirds and the home crowd of 8,972 into a frenzy. It was arguably the loudest the arena has ever been during a Firebirds game.

"That made all that hard work worth it," Poturalski said of his months of rehab.

2. Ryker Evans' game-winner ends three-overtime thriller

The Firebirds trailed by two goals in Game 3 of their Pacific Division championship series versus the Calgary Wranglers, but that only set the stage for what would likely be the most memorable game of Coachella Valley's inaugural season.

Gustav Olofsson eventually cut the deficit to one, then McCormick tied the game to send it to overtime. The Firebirds and Wranglers then played two scoreless overtime periods before Evans, a rookie blueliner from Calgary, beat his hometown team with a shot that he one-timed past Wolf, the Wranglers' goaltender.

After the puck sailed into the net, Evans was mobbed by his teammates in celebration.

The game ended just before midnight, with the two teams playing for nearly five hours in what was the longest game of the season in the AHL. The official attendance was 8,198 inside Acrisure Arena, but only a few hundred were still around at the end of the marathon match to watch perhaps the most dramatic finish of the Firebirds' season.

Daccord, who said that he was exhausted from the celebration, summed up the moment in just three words.

"That was nuts," he said.

1. Firebirds reach the Calder Cup Finals

While this team and its fans are rightfully disappointed with the overtime loss in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals, it shouldn't get lost that the Firebirds still made some significant history in the series.

With a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Admirals in the Western Conference Finals on June 5, the Firebirds became the first AHL team west of Texas to play in a Calder Cup Final. They also became the first team since the 2009-10 Texas Stars to make it to the championship round in their inaugural season.

That was all possible because the Game 6 win over Milwaukee, which included a goal by Evans, another by True and two from Kartye to seal the victory.

“We’re on that ride, and it’s a great ride to be on,” Bylsma said after the win. “I can’t say enough about the fans, the building and all the people coming out – they’re on the ride with us.  And that really was kind of the goal to begin with. The fans, the energy, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m super happy to be having it.”

A sold-out crowd experienced the win, roaring after each goal and chanting, "Joey! Joey! Joey!" in admiration for Coachella Valley's star goaltender.

It was a moment that may be quickly forgotten by fans with the crushing way the season ended. But reaching the Calder Cup Finals was perhaps the most significant moment of the season, and one that years from now will be remembered as the pinnacle of what a great team accomplished in its first year on the ice.

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: Coachella Valley Firebirds: Top 10 moments from an unforgettable season