The Firebirds are trying to look at the big picture going into Game 6 tonight, even after three consecutive losses — their longest skid this postseason — have put their title hopes in peril.
“They’re all one-goal games, a couple of overtime games,” defenseman Brogan Rafferty said of the three games in Hershey that put the Firebirds down three games to two. “It’s a tough pill to swallow. Momentum shifts in the playoffs are crazy. So we’ve got to learn from the last three games and go back home, backs-against-the-wall mentality, and full pedal to the gas here.”
Indeed, momentum can shift quickly in the Calder Cup Playoffs. When the Firebirds were last on Acrisure Arena ice, they were celebrating their second consecutive shutout win to open the series. But multiple adjustments by the Bears have dramatically changed the look of the series. Hershey is clogging up the neutral zone and significantly slowing down Coachella Valley’s speed-based game. Bears defenders have been dogged in blocking shots and clearing net-front chances to take away other avenues of attack for the Firebirds.
Now it’s Coachella Valley’s turn to adjust.
“We are a fast team. We play fast, and we’re looking to reiterate that here going home,” Rafferty said. “They’re playing desperate hockey, so we have to make adjustments now going home and really ramp up our desperation level. This is the time to do that.”
The Firebirds will also have their home fans back on hand.
Said goaltender Joey Daccord, “It’s been so much fun having their support. We feel confident that we’re going to have the whole arena behind us. They’re going to give us everything, and we’re going to give everything for them.”
If the Bears are going to win the Calder Cup, they’re going to have to figure out Acrisure Arena.
When the Bears left the desert eight days ago, they were a team wondering what had just happened. Normally a very defensively structured club, and with a 6-0 road playoff record coming into the Finals, Hershey allowed nine goals in two games and saw the Firebirds skate circles around them.
On Sunday, they returned to California in much different spirits.
Now comes the latest challenge: When Acrisure Arena fans get going, the Firebirds can jump on a visiting opponent and turn around a game quickly. Coachella Valley rattled off three goals early in the third period to put Game 1 away. They scored four times in the second period of Game 2. The Firebirds are outscoring their guests 55-28 in 14 home games this postseason.
“We know what we’re up against going there,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said. “It’s going to be a battle. Their building’s going to be rocking. They’re going to feed off their fans, and the toughest games that we’re going to be playing are coming up in the next couple of days.”
― Patrick Williams
