Flashy Wright, Evans Goals Can't Rescue Penalty-Prone Firebirds In Game 4 Loss

What the Seattle Kraken and their fans will want to remember from Game 4 of the AHL Calder Cup Final Thursday are the highlight-reel goals by Shane Wright and Ryker Evans.

What new Kraken coach Dan Bylsma will want to forget are his Coachella Valley Firebirds' undisciplined penalties. The Hershey Bears used the constant disruption in the game's flow to grab a 3-2 victory at Acrisure Arena, in the process knotting up the AHL title series at 2-2.

As a result, we know the Calder Cup will be awarded in Hershey, PA after either Game 6 or 7. Before that, Game 5 will be contested Saturday in Palm Desert, CA.

1st Period

Hershey took it to Coachella Valley in the 1st with an 11-4 advantage in shots. Firebirds goalie Chris Driedger made several quality stops, but was beaten from a severe angle by Ethan Frank to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at 18:37.

Frank sped down right wing like he was shot out of a cannon. He didn't shoot until he was actually below the circle, but it snuck in for his 10th of the playoffs.

2nd Period

A line brawl at 8:54 turned up the heat inside Acrisure. (Not that it was needed; the outdoor high temperature in Palm Desert was 106 F.)

At 4-on-4, a championship-level sequence brought the Firebirds even at 9:40. Hershey appeared headed down ice on a 2-on-1 break. Cale Fleury, who'd given the puck away, made a desperation dive at center ice to sweep aside the headman pass.

That wasn't all. Fleury had the presence of mind to rise and make a behind-the-back pass to teammate Marian Studenic.

Shane Wright, gifted extra open ice, took Studenic's feed, then took advantage. The Kraken 2022 1st round pick went wide to get around the Bears' Hardy Häman Aktell. Wright then powered to the net, waited for goalie Hunter Shepard to make the first move, then scored to tie the game 1-1.

Worth watching again, with a different replay angle.

Kole Lind took an undisciplined elbowing penalty. Hershey's Ethan Frank cleanly beat Driedger on the power play, but not the post. As the penalty ended, Driedger snapped his glove Patrick Roy-style to rob Joe Snively.

As a Firebirds power play was ending, Matt Strome of Hershey tried the same move Wright scored on, but Driedger denied him.

For the second period in a row, Hershey gets a late goal to take the lead. Hendrix Lapierre, who had assisted on Frank's earlier goal, got one of his own for a 2-1 Bears lead at 18:00.

3rd Period

Defenseman Evans, who we wrote about earlier today, is on playoff loan to the Firebirds. Like Wright, he contributed a highligh-reel goal to tie the game 2-2 at :32. Knocked down as he cut to the middle, Evans still got a lot of mustard on a shot that beat Shepard.

The Firebirds finally got burned on their 6th minor penalty, a Jacob Melanson dive/embellishment. Snively on the power play put Hershey in front for the third time, 3-2, at 4:21.

Hershey wasn't mastering self-control either. Earlier in the period, a retaliation penalty wiped out a Bears power play. Then Mike Vecchione took a cross-check seven seconds after his team had re-taken the lead. But the Firebirds power play, a robust 25% at home in the playoffs coming in, failed to connect for the fourth time.

CV did come close, though.

For the first time in the playoffs, the Firebirds lose at home in the playoffs (7-1). What's now a best of three for the AHL crown resumes Saturday.