For the second consecutive season and in both years of their existence, the Coachella Valley Firebirds have moved on to the Calder Cup Final with a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Admirals in Game-5 of the western conference final on Saturday evening in Wisconsin.
John Hayden’s hat trick and the Firebirds victory was overshadowed by Game-1 of the Stanley Cup Final that drew a great majority of hockey eyeballs.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Monsters made the eastern conference final more interesting by winning their second straight game against the Hersey Bears to once again stay alive in that best-of-seven series. The Bears won the first three games before dropping the last two.
It means the Kraken prospects and veteran AHLers that make up the Firebirds roster will get a little extra rest before finding out their opponent for the final. Coachella Valley lost in overtime of Game-7 in last year’s championship series to the Bears, the club that has won more Calder Cups than any other.
After dropping Game-4 in Milwaukee, the Firebirds buried the Admirals early in this one, scoring four goals in the first period, two of them from Hayden. He’d complete the trick in the 2nd period. He leads the club in playoff goals with seven and is second in points (10), one behind team leader Devin Shore.
Firebirds goalie Chris Driedger made 32 saves in the clincher.
