The Coachella Valley Firebirds will try to rebound from their first loss of the young American Hockey League season when they again face the Abbotsford Canucks Sunday evening in Seattle.
The game at Climate Pledge Arena, the home arena of the Firebirds’ NHL parent team, the Seattle Kraken, is their second of four in the Seattle area. Because Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms is under construction, the Firebirds will begin the season by playing 18 road games and four in the Seattle area before their first home game on Dec. 18.
Like all the Firebirds’ games, the 6 p.m. game will be streamed on the AHL’s streaming service, AHLTV.
The Firebirds lost to Abbotsford, 4-3, on Friday in Seattle, allowing three unanswered goals in the third period, two on the power play.
The Firebirds led 2-1 entering the third period on second-period goals by Alexander True and Jesper Froden.
The Canucks tied the score two minutes into the third period when center Sheldon Dries banked a shot from behind the goal off Firebirds goaltender Joey Daccord for an unassisted power-play goal just as a cross-checking penalty to Firebirds defenseman Brogan Rafferty, assessed at the end of the second period, was expiring.
Abbotsford (2-1-0-0) took the lead for good 4:59 later when defenseman Noah Juulsen put a slap shot from the right point past Daccord for his first goal of the season. Guillaume Brisebois and Dries were credited with the assists.
The Canucks increased their lead to 4-2 with 8:54 left on Tristen Nielsen’s power-play goal off Dries’ assist, two seconds after Firebirds left wing Carsen Twarynski was called for tripping.
Firebirds coach Dan Bylsma first pulled Daccord for an extra attacker with 4:12 to play, coinciding with Firebirds’ right wing Kole Lind and Abbotsford defenseman Christian Wolanin beginning to serve coincidental two-minute roughing penalties.
The Firebirds (2-1-0-0) capitalized on the extra skater with True putting in a rebound of a shot by Gustav Olofsson with 3:47 remaining, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Andrew Poturalski was also credited with an assist.
Daccord returned to the ice immediately after the goal. He was pulled again with 49 seconds left. The Firebirds got one shot off with the extra skater, but Lind’s shot with 19 seconds left was stopped by Arturs Silovs.
The Firebirds were outshot 28-26, including an 11-5 disadvantage during the scoreless first period. They scored on one of their four power-play opportunities. Abbotsford, the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate, scored on two of its four power-play opportunities.
Daccord (2-1-0-0) made 24 saves. Silovs (2-0-0-0) made 23.
The Firebirds opened the scoring 4:51 into the second period on True’s first goal of the season.
The Canucks tied the score at 10:18 when center Carson Focht put a backhanded shot past Daccord for his second goal of the season.
Firebirds right wing Jesper Froden scored for the third consecutive game, directing a pass from Poturalski into the net for a power-play goal at 16:52 of the second period.
An apparent goal by Firebirds right wing John Hayden eight minutes into the first period was nullified because it was ruled that he batted in the puck with a high stick.
The game at Kraken Community Iceplex, the Kraken’s practice facility, was billed as a “sold out private event” with attendance announced at 700.