Firebirds unable to sustain pressure in season-ending loss to Eagles
· Yahoo Sports
This one will sting a little for the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The Firebirds nearly staved off elimination one more time on Wednesday, but a miraculous five-minute stretch from the Colorado Eagles instead ended Coachella Valley's 2025-26 season in Loveland, Colorado.
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Coachella Valley held a two-goal lead before Colorado scored three goals in a span of fewer than five minutes midway through the second period. Neither team scored in the third period, allowing the Eagles to hold onto a 3-2 win that clinched the Pacific Division title. Colorado won the best-of-five series, 3-1, with the Firebirds winning only Game 2.
The Firebirds beat the Bakersfield Condors and Ontario Reign in the first and second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, winning four times when facing elimination. That good fortune ran out Wednesday.
"We love our start in these last two games," Firebirds head coach Derek Laxdal said. "But we couldn't maintain the pressure."
Forward Jagger Firkus scored in the first period, before defenseman Ville Ottavainen added his first goal of the postseason early in the second period.
Eagles forward Bryan Yoon scored his first goal of the playoffs at the 6:45 mark of the second on a fluky goal that fluttered in after hitting a Firebird stick. Tristen Nielson added another goal for Colorado on a power play two minutes later to tie the game. It was the first time all series that Coachella Valley allowed a power play goal.
Three minutes later, Gavin Brindley scored the go-ahead goal for the Eagles, with the crowd of 5,089 on its feet.
Coachella Valley failed to convert on a power play opportunity early in the third period. That would prove costly for the Firebirds, who were unbeaten in these playoffs when they scored on the power play.
In the net, Nikke Kokko recorded 23 saves for the Firebirds. The Firebirds were 0-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty for the game.
Laxdal said that losing this game hurts and that he believed that his team could've made it even further in the postseason with an additional break or two because of how much the players played for one another.
But he said that he's extremely proud that his group was the youngest in the AHL this season and they won 44 games and reached the division finals. He said that is a testament to the culture and the special group that he had to coach this year.
"I just can't say enough about our group," Laxdal said. "Our fans should be very proud."
Andrew John covers the Firebirds for The Desert Sun and USA TODAY. Email him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Firebirds unable to hold lead in season-ending loss to Eagles