PALM DESERT, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda (15-9-1-1) couldn’t complete a third-period comeback on Wednesday night, falling 4–2 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds (14-7-3-0) at Acrisure Arena. San Jose erased two separate deficits and tied the game midway through the third period, but Coachella Valley pulled away late with the go-ahead goal and an empty-netter to secure the win.
The Firebirds opened the scoring at 4:42 of the first period when John Hayden (7) tucked in a loose puck that got behind Gabe Carriere after Eduard Šalé hit the post, giving Coachella Valley a 1–0 lead after 20 minutes. The second period was scoreless as the Barracuda generated chances but were turned aside by goaltender Nikke Kokko.
San Jose broke through early in the third on a five-on-three power play, as Oliver Wahlstrom (7) beat Kokko at 1:01 on the stickside. The Firebirds answered at 5:40 when Mitchell Stephens (4) restored the lead, but the Barracuda responded again with another man-advantage goal, this time from Filip Bystedt (7) at 11:00, knotting the score at 2–2. Coachella Valley regained the lead for good at 16:44 when Oscar Fisker Mølgaard (5) scored the eventual game-winner, with Logan Morrison (12) adding an empty-net goal at 18:40 to close out the 4–2 final.
Kokko made 38 saves on 40 shots to earn first-star honors, while Carriere stopped 26 of 29 shots for San Jose.
You must be logged in to post a comment.