Goalie Joey Daccord's return sparks Firebirds in 5-1 win over Bakersfield
Welcome back, Joey Daccord.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds had their top goaltender back after he spent a brief stint with the NHL's Seattle Kraken, and Daccord showed Firebird fans what they've been missing.
Daccord stopped 31 of 32 shots on goal as the Firebirds comfortably took care of the Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday night 5-1 in front of 7,747 at Acrisure Arena. The fans, becoming more and more knowledgeable about the team by the game, roared when Daccord was announced as the starting goalie.
Forward Austin Poganski, who had a great night with a goal and two assists, said having Daccord back in net is a boost to the team in multiple ways. Daccord's presence was clear in the stat sheet, the Firebirds had yielded 19 goals in the previous four games, but also outside the box score.
"It's huge, you feel confident with a guy like that back there," Poganski said. "He made great saves on the penalty kill and in the first and second period he made some spectacular saves. When you see that on the bench, you're up and getting excited, and that kind of motivates us as well. It's huge to have him back there."
The win was important for the Firebirds as they are battling Calgary for first place in the Pacific Division. In the race for that top spot in the Pacific Division and the coveted first-round playoff bye that comes with it, the Firebirds did not gain any ground on first-place Calgary. The Wranglers also won on Wednesday, beating Henderson 5-3. The Wranglers have 96 points to the Firebirds' 92 points, though they have played two more games than Coachella Valley, which now has a record of 43-14-4-2.
Despite trailing by four points, the Firebirds do control their own destiny. If they were to win out, they would overtake the Wranglers. That would include a huge game on April 5 when the two teams play each other at Acrisure Arena.
Coach Dan Bylsma said that is something the team has talked about. He said they're not looking at the out-of-town scoreboard, knowing that if they take care of their own business, they will get where they want to be. Daccord said the trick is to simply stay the course, don't try to play outside yourself, just because these final nine games have more weight to them.
"We've been one of the best teams in the league all year. I don't think we need to mix it up," said Daccord, who came a late goal away from his fourth shutout of the season. "I think we just need to stick to the process and good things will happen. We've been really process-oriented this whole season. Keep playing the way we know we can play. We know we can beat anybody in this league, and with nine games left, it's the same as usual. Just keep it rolling."
The Firebirds came out flying on Wednesday, scoring a goal within the first three minutes and opening up a 3-0 lead after one period. The first goal of the night was a beauty as Ville Petman and Carsen Twarynski had a 2-on-1 opportunity. Petman did a spin-o-rama pass that froze the defender and the goalkeeper for a split second and before they realized what happened, Twarynski fired it into the top right of the net.
It was just the tone the team wanted to set.
"Statistically, the analytics of course are on your side when you score the first goal, but more importantly it's about setting the pace and the tempo of the game, and I thought we did that, and the goal is an indicator of that," coach Dan Bylsma said. "That team is a fast team and they have scored on us too much in the past few games, so getting that goal early was a statement about how this game was going to go."
While the Firebirds have clinched a playoff spot, the Condors are fighting for one. Bakersfield (31-29-2-2) are currently in sixth place in the division needing to stay in the top seven to make the postseason.
The goals
Firebirds 1-0: Carsen Twarynski put the finishing touches on the first goal of the night early in the first period with a quick wrister into the top right of the goal to cash in a 2-on-1 opportunity, but it was a pretty setup by Ville Petman that did the trick. Petman created the goal with a nifty spin-o-rama pass to Twarynski that kept the lone defender and the goalkeeper off balance and before they regrouped, the puck was in the back of the net.
Firebirds 2-0: A power play goal midway through the first period for the Firebirds as Cameron Hughes notched his 17th of the season on a pretty assist in front of the net by Matt Tennyson. Jimmy Schuldt got the bonus assist.
Firebirds 3-0: Austin Poganski scored a classic pickpocket goal as he stole the puck from behind an unwitting Condors puck-handler and went in uncontested before flicking a quick wrister to the top left of the Bakersfield goalie. A beautiful individual effort to make it 3-0 Firebirds late in the first period.
Firebirds 4-0: After a scoreless second period, Tye Kartye gave the Firebirds even more breathing room with a quick goal 14 seconds into the third period. He took a feed on the move from Jeremy McKenna, moved himself into an open area and wristed one past the Bakersfield goalkeeper. It was a jewel of a goal from Kartye.
Firebirds 4-1: Bakersfield avoided the shutout when Dylan Holloway got one through a crowd that snuck through Daccord with about five minutes left in the game.
Firebirds 5-1: A quick answer for the Firebirds less than a minute after the Condors' goal as Carsen Twarynski scored his second of the game off of a nice feed by Austin Poganski.
The Desert Sun Player of the Game
Carsen Twarynski: It was a great game in net for Daccord, but let's go with the 25-year-old forward Twarynski, who netted the first and last goals of the game, his 15th and 16th of the season, to help lift the Firebirds to the win.
Ice nuggets
Suspended: The Firebirds played Wednesday night's game without Eddie Wittchow. Wittchow was suspended for one game due to his actions in the final five minutes of the previous game on March 25 vs. Henderson. Wittchow was assessed an instigator penalty within the final five minutes of the third period, resulting in an automatic one-game suspension under the provisions of AHL Rule 46.21.
New Firebirds: Coachella Valley had two new faces on the roster for Wednesday's game as forwards Nick Pastujov and Hugo Roy were called up from the ECHL's Kansas City Mavericks. Pastujov, the 25-year-old from Florida who played collegiately at the University of Michigan, has 17 goals and 16 assists in 39 games with the Mavericks. Roy, a 25-year-old from Canada, has 15 goals and 25 assists for the Mavericks. This will be the first stint with the Firebirds for both.
What's next
The next game for the Firebirds will be Friday on the road against the Ontario Reign, before returning home the following night to host Colorado on Saturday.
Remaining Firebirds schedule
Friday: At Ontario, 7 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Colorado, 6 p.m.
Monday: vs. San Jose, 6 p.m.
April 5: vs. Calgary, 7 p.m.
April 8: vs. Bakersfield, 6 p.m.
April 9: vs. Henderson, 3 p.m.
April 12: vs. Ontario, 7 p.m.
April 14: at Bakersfield, 7 p.m.
April 15: at Bakersfield, 7 p.m.
Playoffs: TBA
Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella Valley Firebirds ride hot goaltending to easy win over Bakersfield
