The Coachella Valley Firebirds became Western Conference champions for a second consecutive year after defeating the Milwaukee Admirals 5-1 in Game 5 on Saturday.
The Firebirds, the Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate, posed with the Robert W. Clarke Trophy on the ice at the Admirals’ UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
After losing Game 4 on Thursday 7-2, the Firebirds started strong on Saturday, scoring four times in the first period as defenseman Cale Fleury notched a hat trick of assists in the game’s first 19 minutes and 17 seconds. John Hayden scored two of those goals and completed a hat trick in the second period with a shorty.
Firebirds goaltender Chris Driedger made 25 saves on the night to improve his record to 10-2 in the postseason. His playoff save percentage of .927 is now tied for first in the league with the Cleveland Monsters’ Jet Greaves.
The Firebirds, founded in 2022, achieved some rare history with the victory.
The Firebirds are the fourth club in American Hockey League history to reach the Calder Cup Finals in each of its first two seasons of play, joining the Syracuse Stars (1937-38), the Nova Scotia Voyageurs (1972-73) and the Maine Mariners (1978-79).
The Hershey Bears will rematch the Firebirds in the 2024 Calder Cup Finals if they’re able to finish off the Cleveland Monsters in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hershey fell to Cleveland 5-1 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Game 5 on Saturday, allowing the Monsters to narrow their lead in the series 3-2. Game 6 will be played at Hershey’s Giant Center on Monday.
The Bears defeated the Firebirds in a thrilling seven-game series last June. Mike Vecchione scored the overtime-winning goal in Game 7 to give Hershey its twelfth Calder Cup. The Firebirds took an early 2-0 lead but goals from Capitals’ first-round picks Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre sent the game to overtime.
Win or lose, the Calder Cup Finals will mark Dan Bylsma’s last series as head coach of the Firebirds. Bylsma was promoted to be the new bench boss of the Kraken in late May.
The Firebirds have lost only 2 of 12 games in the postseason, suffering their only other L to the Calgary Wranglers in the Pacific Division Semifinals after earning a first-round bye. They eliminated the Ontario Reign in three games of the Pacific Division Finals, which catapulted them to conference finals for a second consecutive year.
After being more of a top-heavy attack last year, the Firebirds have 10 different players who have registered seven points or more during the 2024 playoffs and are led by Devin Shore’s 11 points (5g, 6a). Hayden leads the Firebirds with 7 goals in 12 games as seven different Coachella Valley skaters have scored at least three times.
The Firebirds feature one former Bears player on the team, defenseman Connor Carrick, who was a Washington Capitals’ fifth-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft.
