The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in Southern California's Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 AHL season. The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken. The team plays their home games at Acrisure Arena in the town of Thousand Palms, California. As of the end of their inaugural 2022–23 season, the Firebirds have won 48 regular season games, one playoff appearance, and one conference championship.
Their inaugural season was very successful. They placed second in their division, as well as second in the league, behind only the Calgary Wranglers, with 103 points. In the Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds would reach the Finals before losing in overtime of game seven to the Hershey Bears.[1] They would pull a similar feat in their second season, reaching the Finals before losing to the Bears again, this time in overtime of game six.
Table keys
edit| Color/symbol | Explanation |
|---|---|
| † | Calder Cup champions |
| ‡ | Conference champions |
| ↑ | Division champions |
| # | Led league in points |
| Term or abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| Finish | Final position in division or league standings |
| GP | Number of games played |
| W | Number of wins |
| L | Number of losses |
| OT | Number of losses in overtime |
| S/O | Number of losses in a shootout |
| Pts | Number of points |
| GF | Goals for (goals scored by the Firebirds) |
| GA | Goals against (goals scored by the Firebirds' opponents) |
| — | Does not apply |
Year by year
edit| AHL season | Firebirds season | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | GP | W | L | OT | S/O | Pts | GF | GA | GP | W | L | Result | ||||
| 2022–23 | 2022–23 | Western‡ | Pacific | 2nd | 72 | 48 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 103 | 257 | 194 | 26 | 15 | 11 | Won first round to Tucson Roadrunners, 2–1 Won division semifinals to Colorado Eagles, 3–2 Won division finals to Calgary Wranglers, 3–2 Won conference finals to Milwaukee Admirals, 4–2 Lost Calder Cup finals to Hershey Bears, 3–4 |
| 2023–24 | 2023–24 | Western‡ | Pacific ↑ | 2nd | 72 | 46 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 103 | 252 | 182 | 18 | 12 | 6 | Won division semifinals to Calgary Wranglers, 3–1 Won division finals to Ontario Reign, 3–0 Won conference finals to Milwaukee Admirals, 4–1 Lost Calder Cup finals to Hershey Bears, 2–4 |
| Totals | 144 | 92 | 32 | 11 | 7 | 206 | 509 | 376 | 44 | 27 | 17 | 2 playoff appearances | ||||
References
edit- General
- "Coachella Valley Firebirds on HockeyDB". HockeyDB. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
- Specific
- ^ Reyes, Jesus; Arthur, Blake (June 21, 2023). "Firebirds come up short of Calder Cup championship, fall to Hershey Bears in overtime of Game 7". KESQ. Retrieved June 5, 2024.