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Firebirds

‘Gonna bring our best;’ Firebirds look to bounce back in Calder Cup series with return home

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June 18, 2023 6:37 AM
Published 4:55 AM

The Coachella Valley Firebirds are flying back home on Sunday. When they left the valley a week ago, they had a 2-0 lead in the Calder Cup Finals against the Hershey Bears. Now, the Firebirds must win the next two games to win the championship.

Hard-fought battle

"You can't be disappointed in the guys' effort," Firebirds Head Coach Dan Bylsma told News Channel 3 Sports Director Blake Arthur after the Game 5 loss in Hershey. "You can't get disappointed. What makes us a good team is our compete level and what was it was a hard-fought battle tonight, zero-zero tonight, for sixty-whatever-plus minutes." Bylsma says the effort was there the whole night.

Coachella Valley Firebirds Head Coach Dan Blysma

The Hershey Bears are now one game away from winning their 13th Calder Cup. The Firebirds must win their next two games at home to win their first cup in what's become an historic inaugural season.

The coach is planning that the change of venue will help redirect the series. "We've had success in games we wanted to at home in our barn and we've got to get right that success right that momentum from our fans." Facing games six and seven ahead to win the Calder Cup, Blysma admits he didn't want to give the Bears three games in Hershey, but "it's gonna make for a great story."

Game 6 is Monday night at Acrisure Arena. It's sold out. Game 7, if needed, will be Wednesday. Puck drop for both is at 7 p.m.

Backs against the wall

Coach Blysma and goalie Joey Daccord both talked about playing with their "backs against the wall."

Daccord talked with News Channel 3 Sports Director Blake Arthur about the challenging series. "We played three one-goal games here. So, two overtimes, both could have gone either way. And I think we'll have a lot of confidence going home to our fans and we can win game six and it can happen in game 7."

Coachella Valley Firebirds goalie Joey Daccord

"Our backs are up against the wall," Daccord told Arthur, saying, "Obviously tonight didn't go our way. That's hockey. It is what it is. You can't change now. So we're just gonna look forward to the next game and bring our best."

Daccord shared confidence in his team as they head back home to Coachella Valley. "I feel like we've still got a lot of energy and we're playing the way we want to."

"The series is not over."

"It's a tough pill to swallow," Brogan Rafferty told News Channel 3 Sports Director Blake Arthur. "The series is not over. Momentum shifts in playoffs are crazy as you can see."

Brogan Rafferty

The team, and the fans, know we've been here before. "You look at all of our series, the Colorado series, the Calgary series. Even Milwaukee. We went to Milwaukee and didn't play our best and came back home and finished off the series so we're looking to do that again."

Admitting the games in Hershey were so close that they could have gone either way, he says the team will be ready for the challenges ahead. "It's really just about competing your heart out and leaving it all on the ice."

https://youtu.be/UHnPwAcPlGI

Game 6 in Coachella Valley

Game 6 is sold out at Acrisure Arena. You can watch Game 6 live on Monday on Fox 11. Coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

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