Firebirds Calder Cup Final-Bound, Decommissioning Admirals 5-1

The Seattle Kraken will have to wait a while longer for new coach Dan Bylsma's full attention. Under the circumstances, they won't mind.

Bylsma's Coachella Valley Firebirds, farm team of the Kraken, on Saturday completed a five-game domination of the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL Western Conference Finals.

Coachella's lopsided 5-1 victory at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena earned the Firebirds a second consecutive appearance in the Calder Cup Final.

John Hayden led the way with a hat trick; winning goalie Chris Driedger, who made key 2nd period saves, finished with 32 stops.

Coachella turned undisciplined Admirals penalties into two 1st period power play goals, and two more right after Ads infractions expired. The visitors led 4-0 after 20 minutes, rendering the final two periods little more than garbage time.

CV's title series opponent hasn't yet been determined. The Cleveland Monsters staved off elimination for a second time in the Eastern Conference Finals Saturday, beating the Hershey Bears 5-1. Hershey, which still leads the series 3-2, defeated the Firebirds in a seven game Final in 2023.

For tonight, fans in Palm Desert and Seattle can revel in an unprecedented achievement: two seasons in existence, two conference titles. We're into our sixth paragraph before even mentioning the Firebirds improving their postseason record to 10-2.

How The Firebirds Won The West

1st Period

The bravado the Admirals had expressed after their 7-2 Game 4 victory vanished less than a period into Game 5. Milwaukee's nightmare began nine seconds into the game, when Adam Wilsby was called for high-sticking.

Coachella Valley's John Hayden set the tone with the first of his three goals at 2:33, 24 seconds after Wilsby had exited the box.

Rinse and repeat: Milwaukee's Wade Allison goes off for hooking at 6:28. 46 seconds after his penalty ended, Jimmy Schult doubled the Firebirds lead.

Failing to learn their lesson, Milwaukee took two more minors. Each time, Coachella didn't wait until the penalties ended to extend their lead.

Hayden put home his 2nd of the game, 6th of the playoffs on the power play at 17:04.

Devin Shore, who assisted on Hayden's PP tally, got one of his own at 19:17. The veteran, standing at the left edge of the crease, had raised his stick calling for the puck, and Cameron Hughes obliged. Shore's 5th of the postseason was also Cale Fleury's third helper of the period, padding the Firebirds lead to 4-0.

2nd Period

By the 2nd period, frustration had reached the Milwaukee radio booth. "I can't believe it!" announcer Aaron Sims shouted in mock amazement at a roughing penalty on CV's Marian Studenic. "Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson, Team USA beat Russia in the Olympics, and the Admirals are getting a power play!"

And they got a power play goal. Joakim Kemmel, who had promised a Milwaukee Game 5 victory, narrowed the deficit to 4-1 at 8:24.

Not much later, Driedger made a terrific right pad save on Phil Tomasino and smothered Marc Del Gaizo's followup to blunt further Admirals momentum. Halfway through the period, Milwaukee was outshooting Coachella Valley 10-2. Driedger stopped 13 of 14 shots in the frame.

Hayden completed his hat trick on a shorthanded breakaway at 18:03. The play began with Hayden blocking a Del Gaizo pass, then racing 2/3 the length of the rink by his lonesome for his 7th of the playoffs.

3rd Period

The Firebirds had two tasks for the final 20 minutes. One, don't suffer a meltdown. Two, don't let the frustrated Admirals goad them into rough stuff that could result in injuries.

Mission accomplished on both counts. Only Shane Wright, who didn't play at all in the series, remains a serious health concern.

Down multiple goals in Game 4, coach Bylsma pulled his goalie for a sixth attacker with more than five minutes left. Tonight, Milwaukee coach Karl Taylor did Bylsma four minutes better. Netminder Troy Grosenick took a seat with 9:21 to go.

Unofficially, the Firebirds missed the open net 800 times. In fact, they had only two shots in the period. However, they prevented the Admirals from scoring on a king-sized 6-on-5 advantage.

In their four Western Conference victories, Coachella Valley allowed Milwaukee a grand total of five goals. Goalie Driedger improved to 10-2 in the postseason and raised a .923 save percentage when the night started. Driedger must be considered a favorite for the Jack Butterfield trophy, awarded to the AHL playoff MVP.