Firebirds ready to take on biggest challenge yet | LaAHL.com

Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Editor

---

Kole Lind relayed a brief story after Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals on Saturday night.

A 3-2 loss at Acrisure Arena had Lind and the Coachella Valley Firebirds on the brink of elimination for the first time in the postseason. The Firebirds need to win two games in Hershey to win the Calder Cup.

This is a clear, if very demanding, ask for the Firebirds.

Minutes after that Game 5 loss, Lind told reporters and the head coach. Dan Bylsma poked his head into the locker room.

“(He said) ‘We’ll go in and get two,'” Lind said.

No visiting team has played in the Calder Cup in Hershey since Springfield in 1961. No team has ever won Games 6 and 7 of the Calder Cup final on the road.

“No one said it was going to be easy.” » Lind said.

And the Firebirds don’t know it. Last season, they lost to the Bears in overtime in Game 7. This time, they’ll have to go to the Giant Center — where the Bears are 37-9-0-0 this season — and win twice. they want to beat the Bears. Hershey Calder Cup. But the Firebirds have shown they can get the job done on the road, where they went an AHL-best 26-5-3-2 (.792) in the regular season; they also won the first game of this series at the Giant Center. This is a team that gets comfortable in uncomfortable environments.

Hershey was able to slow down Coachella Valley’s fast-paced offense in Games 4 and 5, limiting the Firebirds to an average of 25 shots on goal. Still, Bylsma left satisfied with his team’s play on Saturday, despite the result.

“I really liked what we did,” Bylsma said in his post-match press conference. “I thought it was a good effort, an all-around effort. For this group, our journey was fraught with challenges (at) different times. We always responded. We’re going to Hershey to win 6 and 7.”

Bylsma also had his players pack for their trip to Hershey as if they would be there for two games. Tonight will be Coachella Valley’s 90th game of the season. Last year’s team played 98 games. The core of the Firebirds has been through a lot together. And with Bylsma’s promotion to Seattle and the fact that AHL clubs usually undergo significant changes during the offseason, this week will likely be the last time much of the group will be together.

“I’m really confident in our group and we’re going to come out with a lot of energy and fire for Game 6,” Lind said. “I have no doubt. We grabbed Game 1 there. We’re going to go out there, focus on Game 6, grab that one and go from there.

“We have nothing to save him. We’re going to put everything on the line. If we can do that, I know our group will come out on top.