The Coachella Valley Firebirds narrowly missed out on a Calder Cup championship during their first year in existence. Now, they’re looking for any edge they can get days after becoming Western Conference champions for a second straight year.
According to Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis, the Firebirds already traveled to central Pennsylvania to begin preparing for the Calder Cup Finals.
RMNB can add that the Firebirds practiced at Hersheypark Arena as the Hershey Bears held their morning skate ahead of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Giant Center.
Coming to Hershey now and not returning home allows the Firebirds to stay acclimated to the Eastern Time Zone and avoid possible jet lag traveling to Hershey later. Coachella Valley plays in Palm Desert, California, which is three hours behind Hershey (Pacific Time). The Firebirds became Western Conference champions on Saturday after spending a week in Milwaukee, which is one hour behind Hershey in Central Time.
The Firebirds’ travel plans could be viewed as aggressive because if the Cleveland Monsters, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, can complete an incredible comeback after being down three games to none to the Bears in the Eastern Conference Finals, the 2024 Calder Cup Finals would actually open at Coachella Valley’s home arena, Acrisure Arena. The Firebirds own home ice over the Monsters after accruing 15 more standings points than them during the regular season.
Otherwise, if the Bears take care of business, the championship series’s Games 1 and 2 will be held at Giant Center beginning at the end of the week as Hershey held the best record in the AHL this year.
The Firebirds were ultimately eliminated by the Bears in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals last June. After Coachella Valley took a 2-0 lead in the game, Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre scored consecutive tallies to force overtime. There, Mike Vecchione tallied the championship-winning goal in sudden death, giving Hershey its twelfth Calder Cup.
This year’s Calder Cup Finals series will mark Dan Bylsma’s final games as head coach of the Firebirds. The Seattle Kraken promoted Bylsma and he will be the NHL team’s bench boss next season.
7 pm update: ABC27’s Allie Berube posted footage from the Firebirds’ practice this morning.
9:15 pm update: The Coachella Valley Firebirds coaching staff attended Game 6 at Giant Center and could be seen scouting the Bears and Monsters from the upper deck.
