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AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds

Firebirds Clip Roadrunners in Game One of Calder Cup Playoffs, 5-1

April 20, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Coachella Valley Firebirds News Release


The Firebirds defeated the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday night at Acrisure Arena to take a 1-0 series lead in the first round of the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. Joey Daccord stopped 45 of 46 Roadrunners' shots while Firebirds' captain Max McCormick netted two goals in the first postseason game in his team's history. The Firebirds have a chance to eliminate the Roadrunners on Friday night in game two on home ice.

The Firebirds found three goals in the opening period to get out ahead of the Roadrunners. Coachella Valley earned a powerplay just 34 seconds into the game after Tucson took a too many men on the ice penalty. Kole Lind and Brogan Rafferty teamed up to put the puck off the stick of Max McCormick and into the net behind Ivan Prosvetov. The captain's redirection was his fifth career AHL postseason goal and came 1:00 in.

Coachella Valley extended their lead on a backhander by Alexander True at 7:49. Ryker Evans found True into the offensive zone where he snuck a shot on the backhand past Prosvetov to make it 2-0. Cameron Hughes earned the secondary helper.

Kole Lind's nifty move in front of the Roadrunners' net helped the Firebirds to a 3-0 advantage in the first period. Evans and McCormick each earned the assists on Lind's first career postseason goal.

Max McCormick added to his team's total with his second powerplay goal of the game. The captain tipped in an Evans' shot just eight seconds into the man-advantage to make it 4-0 at 8:03 of the second period. Kole Lind picked up his third point of the game with an assist on the goal.

Carsen Twarynski added an empty net goal at 16:19 od the third period to put the icing on the cake extend Coachella Valley's lead to five. Ville Petman secured the lone assist on Twarynski's first career postseason goal.

Tuscon scored with just 1:17 remaining to snap Joey Daccord's shutout bid. Daccord stopped 45 of 46 Tucson shots to pick up his fourth career postseason victory. The Firebirds powerplay finished 2-for-6 and the penalty kill went 2-for-2.

NEXT GAME: The Firebirds will host the Tucson Roadrunners this Friday, April 21st in game two of the best-of-three series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm PT.

Tickets for the first round of the 2023 Postseason, powered by Walter Clark Legal Group, are on sale now and can be purchased as an entire strip (all three games) or individually. Strips start at just $20 while individual tickets begin at $19. Groups of 10 or more begin at only $18.

The best-of-three series will continue at Acrisure Arena on Friday, April 21st at 7pm, and Sunday, April 23rd at 3pm (if necessary). To purchase tickets and learn more information, visit cvfirebirds.com.

Season tickets for the Firebirds' 2023-24 campaign are on sale now! For a full list of benefits and more information on Season Ticket Memberships for the 2023-24 season, click HERE or call 760-835-8778. For more information and to purchase, please visit www.cvfirebirds.com or call 760-835-8778. View the team's full game and promotional schedule, including theme night events at www.cvfirebirds.com/schedule.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 20, 2023


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