The Coachella Valley Firebirds bounced back Friday.
Acrisure Arena came alive early in the third period, after the Firebirds scored a pair of goals within 71 seconds to break a scoreless tie with the Colorado Eagles. Coachella Valley went on to win, 4-0.
The best-of-five Pacific Division Finals is now tied 1-1, with the series now headed to Colorado for Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 5. Game 3 is Sunday at 5 p.m.
Forward J.R. Avon, who scored the series-clinching goal against the Ontario Reign, scored first for the Firebirds. He found the back of the net on a slapshot just one minute and 20 seconds into the third period. The goal broke a five-period scoring drought for Coachella Valley, which was shut out in Game 1.
“It’s the playoffs,” Avon said. “Teams are going to lock down, defensively, so we’ve just got to wait for our chances to come and score on them.”
With the home crowd rocking, forward Eduard Sale scored on the rush to give the Firebirds a two-goal lead. The goal marked just the third time in eight 2026 postseason games that a team has scored more than a single goal in a game against Eagles goalie Trent Miner.
Firebirds head coach Derek Laxdal shuffled a couple lines late in the second period, moving Avon to a line with Logan Morrison and Jani Nyman, and it paid off.
“They responded,” Laxdal said. “Our guys just found a way to hang in there and find a way to win.”
For good measure, Avon scored another goal with under four minutes remaining in the game and then Oscar Fisker Molgaard added an empty net goal with under two minutes to play.
Avon and Molgaard each have seven goals this postseason, which leads all players in these Calder Cup Playoffs. No other player has recorded more than five.
“We talked about trying to get to the net more than the other guys,” Laxdal said, “and I thought we did a good job of it.”
Star forward Jacob Melanson returned to the lineup Friday, after missing Wednesday’s Game 1 with an upper-body injury. His presence in the lineup helped with Firebirds bring more physicality to the the game than they did in Game 1.
Understanding that the game was essentially a must-win to avoid going down 0-2 in the series, Coachella Valley played with much more of an edge Friday. Nyman was penalized for roughing, threw punches and had to be held back from fighting multiple times.
In the win, Coachella Valley goalie Nikke Kokko recorded his second shutout of the postseason. Kokko recorded 33 saves, including several that will surely make the highlight reel. The Firebirds had perhaps their best defensive game of the postseason, blocking a handful of shots that did not even get to Kokko.
For the game, the Firebirds were 0-for-3 on the power play. The Firebirds are 4-0 this postseason when they score on the power play but just 2-4 when they do not. Friday was one of those nights when they won without needing it.
They have now gone seven games in a row without allowing a power play goal. They were 4-for-4 on the penalty kill Friday.
“It’s 1-1,” Laxdal said. “Our goal is to go in there and try to battle for a win Sunday night.”
Schedule for Firebirds vs. Colorado Eagles
Andrew John covers the Firebirds for The Desert Sun and USA TODAY. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Firebirds even series with Colorado thanks to shutout gem in Game 2
Reporting by Andrew John, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
