The Coachella Valley Firebirds continued their winning streak, opening their inaugural Pride weekend in dominating fashion Saturday night at Acrisure Arena.
The Firebirds have had the San Jose Barracuda’s number all season and Saturday was no different. They scored twice in the first period to go up 2-0 and then never looked back, recording a shutout and finishing with a 4-0 victory.
It was the seventh straight win for the Firebirds and their 10th in 11 games. Coachella Valley is now 22-6-3 on the season and has taken sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division. Calgary did not play on Saturday, which was tied with them. In that stretch, Coachella Valley has outscored its opponents 44-21.
The Barracuda, an affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, have struggled with the Firebirds this season, losing all four games. Coachella Valley’s dominance may be why there seemed to be some animosity between the two teams as fights and numerous other skirmishes broke out throughout the game.
The Firebirds donned special Pride jerseys for the first day of Pride weekend at Acrisure Arena. The base of these Pride jerseys was white, while the Firebirds logo, number outline and striping on the sides of the jersey were decorated in Pride colors. “Rising Together” was also written in light blue on the back of the jersey.
The jerseys will be worn again for Sunday’s home game against Ontario and will be available for online auction using the DASH Auction app. Proceeds from the online jersey auction will benefit LGBTQ+ youth organizations in the Coachella Valley.
Palm Springs Pride’s Asher Bisgaard provided the ceremonial puck drop at the start of the game. Asher is the youngest volunteer for Palm Springs Pride 2022. Bisgaard volunteered in entertainment/hospitality during the recent Palm Springs Pride Festival and marched in the parade with his school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club in 2021 and 2022.
Objectives
1-0 Firebirds: Brogan Rafferty scored the first goal five minutes into the first period. He opened up on the left side of the goal and scored one time. Ryker Evans and Max McCormick had assists.
2-0 Firebirds: Alexander True scored the Firebirds’ second goal midway through the first period on a power play. Cameron Hughes broke through on the right and fired a shot into the net. True got his stick on the puck and shot it through. Assists came from Cameron Hughes and Brogan Rafferty.
3-0 Firebirds: The third goal came midway through the second period. Kole Lind stole the puck from a defender in Barracuda territory and after a few passes it ended up in the hands of Cameron Hughes who scored on the left side of the net. Assists were scored by Kole Lind and Alexander True.
4-0 Firebirds: Carson Twarynski scored the fourth goal of the game early in the third period. Matt Tennyson and Luke Henman had the assists.
Desert Sun Firebirds player
Joey Accord: Accord was in net for the entire Firebirds game. Despite the Barracuda outshooting the Firebirds with 39 shots, the Accord did not concede a single goal to secure a clean sheet.
Ice nuggets
Pride in full: A packed crowd at Acrisure Arena showed support for the LGBTQ+ community throughout the night. Fans received Coachella Valley Firebirds flags decorated in pride colors that were flown throughout the arena during the game to match all the other Pride festivities.
Barracuda Domination: The Firebirds are 4-0 against the San Jose Barracuda. They outscored them 21-4 and shut them out twice in four games.
