Down But Not Out: Firebirds Face Elimination In Game 6

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The Coachella Valley Firebirds got out to a hot start in the American Hockey League's (AHL) 2023 Calder Cup Finals, jumping out to a 2-0 series lead on the Hershey Bears with a pair of shutout wins.

While the final scores of those first two games read 5-0 and 4-0, respectively, both the Firebirds and their opponent felt those games were much closer than the score might have indicated.

As the series shifted to Hershey for Game 3, the first of three straight Bears' victories came in an overtime that the Firebirds dominated and had Hershey on their heels - including a play where Ryker Evans hit the post and crossbar before the puck bounced out in front and was ruled no goal, with no review.

The Bears scored moments later to win the game and cut the Firebirds lead in the series to 2-1. The Game 3 win for the Bears also stole the momentum,, and seemingly the puck luck Coachella Valley seemingly had in the opening two games.

While Games 4 and 5 were hard fought, it was the Bears coming out on top in one-goal games - including a 1-0 overtime decision Saturday night in Game 5 that has the Bears on the verge of their 12th league title and the Firebirds on the brink of elimination.

"It's a tough pill to swallow losing three in a row here in this barn," Firebirds defenseman Brogan Rafferty said after the Game 5 loss, before adding, "but this series is not over. Momentum shifts in playoffs are crazy, as you can see. So we have to learn from the last three games, go back home and backs against the wall mentality."

Now back in Palm Springs, California in the Coachella Valley, the Firebirds have their backs firmly against the wall. If they can't pick up a win in Monday night's Game Six to force a winner-take-all on Wednesday night, the franchise's first season as an AHL franchise will come up just short of a storybook ending.

"Well you got to take the change of venue and give them a different look, give them a different feel," Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma said after a 1-0 overtime loss in Game 5. "We've had success in Games 1 and 2 at home in our barn, and we've got to ride that success - ride that the momentum from our fans. This is a race to four. They're up on us three-two now so we have to go back home and use that to change venue and momentum and get our third win. That's how stories are made. Going the distance in a seven game series and someone coming up the winner, and so we didn't want to give them three games here in Hershey and force us to go back and win six and seven at home, but it's gonna make for a great story."

While the Firebirds have played a total of 97 games this season (two preseason, 72 regular season and 24 playoff games entering Monday night's Game 6), they'll need to find a way to power through against a Bears team that has tightened things up defensively in a big way. After allowing nine goals in the opening two games, the Bears allowed just six goals in the last three games in Hershey.

"They made adjustments as they should have, and as every team does in the playoffs after we went up two-nothing, so you have to tip your cap to them," Rafferty said of Hershey's ability to bounce back after losing the two games in California. "They've been clogging up the neutral zone. It's hard to get bodies in front of their net, and pucks through. They're blocking a lot of shots. They're playing desperate hockey. We have to make adjustments now, going home, and really ramp up our desperation level. This is the time of the year that we all want to play for and the trophy that we want to win. So, leave it all on the line on Monday and Wednesday and try to get this thing."