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Overtime heartbreak: Firebirds head home down 3-2 in Calder Cup series

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June 17, 2023 11:11 PM
Published 12:26 AM

Hershey Bears have won Game 5 of the Calder Cup series with an overtime goal. Garrett Pilon scored just about halfway through the overtime period, netting victory for the Bears. By that time, Firebirds goalie Joey Daccord had made 30 saves.

"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 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.

News Channel 3 Sports Director Blake Arthur is on the road with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Watch News Channel 3 at 10 and 11 p.m. for live team coverage with player reaction.

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."

Play heads to Coachella Valley on Monday at Acrisure Arena for Game 6. The Hershey Bears are now one game away from winning their 13th Calder Cup. Coachella Valley Firebirds must win their next two games at home to win the championship.

Coachella Valley fans can take heart in this fact: neither team has lost at home in this series.

It was a tough time on the road for the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The team headed into Hershey without allowing the Bears a single goal in the first two games, leading to a 2-game to zero series lead.

The Firebirds put up a valiant battle throughout all three games in Hershey. The team finished 5-for-5 on the penalty kill Saturday. The team went 0-for-3 on the powerplay in Game 5.

Monday night's game is sold out, but you'll be able to watch Game 6 live on Monday on Fox 11. Coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

GAME UPDATES BELOW

OVERTIME 1

The Hershey Bears get an early power play opportunity as the back-and-forth battle against Coachella Valley Firebirds heads into overtime play. That went scoreless.

They enter a second power play with about 12 minutes left in the first overtime

While it is still unknown which team will win pivotal game 5 of the Calder Cup finals, it is clear that fans will see just one goal in this game. The team that scores it will take a 3-2 game advantage in the best-of-seven series.

Fans are at the edge of their seats since the victor of this game could be the Calder Cup champion as early as Monday.

The play heads into overtime after neither team scored through three regular periods.

PERIOD 3

Coachella Valley Firebirds and Hershey Bears entered the last 20 minutes of regular play with both teams scoreless.

At Spotlight 29 in Coachella, organizers estimate the crowd at 1,000 fans.

Jesper Froden slid into the goal with about 16 minutes left in the period. It was dislodged. The goal was again dislodged with 11:15 left in the third period.

At 3:15 left in regulation, there is still no score.

Period 3 finished with no score for either team. Play heads into overtime.

PERIOD 2

Period two begins with a 0-0 score for the Coachella Valley Firebirds and Hershey Bears.

Midway through the second period, both teams remain scoreless. Coachella Valley has blocked 12 shots; Hershey has blocked 15.

With 7:46 left, Coachella Valley was heading into a power play. It went without a goal.

The second period ended without any score.

PERIOD 1

The puck has dropped in Hershey. Game 5 is underway. Sports Director Blake Arthur is in Giant Center to cover the team on the road.

Game 5 is underway in Hershey, Pennsylvania as the Coachella Valley Firebirds work to regain the series lead for the Calder Cup Championship. The Firebirds and the Hershey Bears are now tied at two games each in the best-of-seven series. The team that wins tonight will be one win away from the Calder Cup.

With 8:19 left in the first period, both teams were scoreless, despite four shots on goal for Coachella Valley and five for Hershey.

The periods ended with no goals for either team.

Firebirds goalie Joey Daccord blocked all 8 shots on goal by the Bears. The Firebirds had 6 shots on goal in period 1. Both teams went 0-1 in power plays this period.

Planning for Game 5

"It's what hockey is all about. It's what we play for and it's something that will be with each one of these guys going forward this memory of this ride," Coach Dan Bylsma told News Channel 3 Sports Director Blake Arthur on Friday in Hershey, PA.

"It's not going to be more memorable because it was easy. You have to embrace the challenge. You have to embrace the hardness of it."

Coachella Valley Firebirds Head Coach Dan Bylsma

The series has been an intense run for fans. Game 1 and Game 2 were played in Coachella Valley to sold-out crowds at Acrisure Arena. The Firebirds won both without allowing the Bears even one goal. The tables turned for the Firebirds as play headed to Hershey. The Bears won two hard-fought victories on their home ice to even the series.

This means Coachella Valley fans will see their team at home again for Game 6 on Monday. But before the Coachella Valley Firebirds can return home, the series pushes forward with a pivotal Game 5 in Hershey on Saturday.

You can watch Game 5 live starting at 3:30 p.m. on News Channel 3 (ABC). The puck drop is at 4 p.m.

You can also watch the game at Spotlight 29 in Coachella. That's where News Channel 3 Sports Anchor Bailey Arredondo spoke with Hall of Famer and Firebirds analyst Grant Fuhr. "It was never going to be easy," Fuhr said.

"Massive" Game 5 in Hershey

News Channel 3 was on the ice with the team as they practiced on Friday. Sports Director Blake Arthur talked with players at Giant Center.

"Game five's massive," Eddie Wittchow told Arthur, "You know what they say is the series doesn't start until a team loses at home. And so we had an opportunity to give them a loss of home and then going back to our passionate fan base... right now we're just focusing on game five." Wittchow previously played for the Hershey Bears.

Forward Kole Lind shared his thoughts heading into the game. "We're not panicking at all. We know we're in a good spot and we're in a tight series here. We didn't expect them to roll over and they shouldn't expect us to roll over either."

Returning to the desert next week

As play returns to Coachella Valley next week, the team's inaugural season will continue to make history.

Game 6 is sold out as of Saturday morning.

Post-season attendance at Acrisure Arena will again break a league record. The team has already blazed its way to 117,879 fans across 13 home games. That makes it the highest playoff turnout in the American Hockey League's 80-plus-year history. The Firebirds have achieved four sellouts at the 10,087-seat Acrisure Arena, including the first two games of the Calder Cup Finals against Hershey.

News Channel 3 talked with fans buying tickets for the next home games. Even though Game 7 is not yet a sure thing, Carlos Contreras was making sure he had seats at the Acrisure box office on Friday. "I've never been to a game seven. So I'm jumping on this opportunity ... and hopefully, we're on the winning end."

You'll also be able to watch Game 6 live on Monday on Fox 11. Coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

Be the first to know when news breaks in Coachella Valley. Download the News Channel 3 app here.

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Coverage of the Calder Cup Finals in Hershey is made possible by the Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation. The Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation is a nonprofit that identifies needs in the local journalism ecosystem and seeks out grants and donations from individuals to bridge those gaps. The CVJF is a 501(c)3 organization, and all contributions are tax-deductible. Learn more at www.cvjf.org.

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