
Sprong's Two Goals Lead Firebirds to Victory on Pride Night
January 11, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Coachella Valley Firebirds News Release
The Firebirds defeated the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night at Acrisure Arena by the final score 5-2. Newcomer Daniel Sprong netted two goals and added an assist in the Firebirds first-ever meeting against the Central Division's Chicago Wolves. A crowd of 8,712 was on hand for Coachella Valley's third annual Pride Night, presented by Silvercrest.
Chicago opened the scoring just 4:39 into the game on a goal from Bradly Nadeau.
The Firebirds found the equalizer 3:30 into the second period as Ben Meyers found Daniel Sprong on an odd-man rush. Sprong was assigned to Coachella Valley after being put on waivers this week by the Seattle Kraken.
The Wolves found a quick answer as Jordan Martel beat Ales Stezka 1:50 later to make it 2-1 Chicago.
Lleyton Roed drove to the net and tied the game for his ninth of the season at 15:50 of the middle period. Sprong and Logan Morrison earned the assists.
The Firebirds outshot the Wolves 22-7 in the second period, the most shots on goal in a single period by Coachella Valley in team history (previous was 21 - done twice).
Coachella Valley wasted no time in the third period, taking their first lead of the game. On another odd-man rush, this time started by Roed, resulting in Sprong beating Chicago goaltender Spencer Martin for his second of the game. The goal came 36 seconds into the third.
Jani Nyman added to the Firebirds' lead with a powerplay goal at 4:36. The goal extended Coachella Valley's powerplay goal streak to seven straight games, tying the second longest streak in team history (most is 8 - 3/3-3/19/2023).
Brandon Biro moved the Firebirds ahead by three with a breakaway goal for his fourth of the season with 4:40 left in the third period.
Coachella Valley moves to 18-12-1-4 on the year and now have points in six of their last seven games and wins in four of their last five.
The Firebirds' finished the game 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-2 on the powerplay.
Goaltender Ales Stezka earned his first seventh of the season and made 28 saves on 30 shots.
Coachella Valley outshot Chicago 47-30.
The Firebirds continue their homestand tomorrow, Sunday, January 12th as they rematch the Chicago Wolves. Puck drop is set for 3pm PT. Visit CVFirebirds.com to get your tickets now!
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from January 11, 2025
- Sprong's Two Goals Lead Firebirds to Victory on Pride Night - Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Specialty Teams Vault Colorado to 7-2 Win Over Wranglers - Colorado Eagles
- Wolves Drop 5-2 Decision to Firebirds - Chicago Wolves
- Stars End Road Trip with a Convincing Win and a Share of First Place - Texas Stars
- Griffins Defeated by Last-Minute Blow - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Moose Blank Griffins - Manitoba Moose
- Monsters Beat Rocket 2-1 in Overtime in Front of 15,176 Fans - Cleveland Monsters
- IceHogs Stumble Against the Stars 6-1 - Rockford IceHogs
- Wolf Pack Celebrates 50 Years of Professional Hockey in Front of 10,074 Fans - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Amerks' Win Streak Snapped in Syracuse - Rochester Americans
- Peca's History-Making Night Catapults T-Birds Past Bruins - Springfield Thunderbirds
- San Diego Gulls Recall Vyachelsav Buteyets from Tulsa (ECHL) - San Diego Gulls
- Brodeur Backstops Comets To Victory Over Marlies, 4-1 - Utica Comets
- Vecchione Hat Trick Powers Bears to 4-2 Win Over Checkers - Hershey Bears
- Crunch Blow Past Amerks, 6-2 - Syracuse Crunch
- P-Bruins Defeated by Thunderbirds - Providence Bruins
- Rangers Reassign Talyn Boyko to ECHL's Tulsa Oilers from Wolf Pack - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Capitals Recall Hunter Shepard, Garin Bjorklund Re-Assigned to Bears - Hershey Bears
- Bellows Recalled by Predators - Milwaukee Admirals
- Wolf Pack Celebrate 50 Years of Professional Hockey in Hartford vs. Phantoms - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Game Preview: San Jose at Bakersfield, 7 p.m. - Bakersfield Condors
- Dallas Stars Recall Forward Matej Blümel from Texas Stars - Texas Stars
- Game Preview: Bears at Checkers, 6 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- St. Louis Blues Transfer F Otto Stenberg to Thunderbirds - Springfield Thunderbirds
- IceHogs Conclude Two Game Set with Texas Tonight - Rockford IceHogs
- Game #33 Preview: Tucson Roadrunners (18-13-1-0) at San Diego Gulls (11-18-3-2) - Tucson Roadrunners
- Poturalski and Houle Lead Barracuda Past Condors - San Jose Barracuda
- Reign Shut Out by Wild - Ontario Reign
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Coachella Valley Firebirds Stories
- Sprong Scores in Overtime Again to Extend Firebirds' Win Streak
- Central Division Wins 2025 AHL All-Star Challenge in Dramatic Fashion
- Eastern Conference Prevails in 2025 AHL All-Star Skills Competition
- Sprong Nets Overtime Winner in Weekend Sweep of Stars
- Meyers' Overtime Goal Seals Win Over Stars

