Mitchell Stephens’ second goal of the night came 2:00 into the third overtime period and gave the Coachella Valley Firebirds a 4-3 win over the Calgary Wranglers in Game 1 of their Pacific Division first-round series on Tuesday night.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series is set for Saturday evening back at Acrisure Arena.
Stephens redirected a point shot from Ville Ottavainen past Wranglers goaltender Waltteri Ignatjew to end the contest at 11:36 p.m. PDT, four hours and 29 minutes after the opening puck drop.
The goal salvaged what could have been a devastating night for the Firebirds, who coughed up a three-goal lead in the third period.
Coachella Valley, the two-time defending Western Conference champions, came out of the gates quickly, with John Hayden opening the scoring 3:39 into the game. Hayden led Coachella Valley with nine postseason goals last spring.
Brandon Biro, who had one goal over his final 30 games during the regular season, gave the hosts a 2-0 lead less than four minutes later.
Stephens knocked home a loose puck at the top of the crease to make it 3-0 at the 14:05 mark of the second period, and the Firebirds appeared to be well on their way to a Game 1 win.
But Calgary stormed back in the third period, beginning with Dryden Hunt’s goal while the teams were skating four-on-four at 6:51. Lucas Ciona cut the deficit to 3-2 with 5:07 to play, and Martin Frk found Rory Kerins down low with 7.0 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
The Firebirds outshot the Wranglers, 50-39, for the game, including 20-11 during the 42 minutes of overtime play. Nikke Kokko, the goaltender on the 2024-25 AHL All-Rookie Team, made 36 saves in the win, while Ignatjew finished with 46 stops for Calgary.
Coachella Valley improved to 4-0 in overtime playoff games against the Wranglers. This is the third consecutive postseason in which the teams have squared off.
(Coachella Valley leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Tue., Apr. 22 – COACHELLA VALLEY 4, Calgary 3 (3OT)
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 26 – Calgary at Coachella Valley, 9:00
*Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 27 – Calgary at Coachella Valley, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
