The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in Southern California's Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 AHL season.[1] The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken.[2] As of the end of the 2023–24 season, the Firebirds have won 92 regular season games, made two playoff appearances, and have two conference championships.
The Firebirds' inaugural season was very successful. They placed second in their division, as well as second in the league, behind only the Calgary Wranglers with 103 points.[3] During that season's Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds reached the Finals, before losing in overtime of game seven to the Hershey Bears.[4] They pulled a similar feat in their second season, achieving 103 points in the regular season[5] and reaching the Finals before losing to the Bears again, this time in overtime of game six.[6]
Table keys
edit| Color/symbol | Explanation |
|---|---|
| † | Calder Cup champions |
| ‡ | Conference champions |
| ↑ | Division champions |
| # | Led league in points |
| Term or abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| Finish | Final position in division standings |
| GP | Number of games played |
| W | Number of wins |
| L | Number of losses |
| OT | Number of losses in overtime |
| S/O | Number of losses in a shootout |
| Pts | Number of points |
| GF | Goals for (goals scored by the Firebirds) |
| GA | Goals against (goals scored by the Firebirds' opponents) |
| — | Does not apply |
Year by year
edit| AHL season | Firebirds season | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | GP | W | L | OT | S/O | Pts | GF | GA | GP | W | L | Result | ||||
| 2022–23 | 2022–23 | Western‡ | Pacific | 2nd | 72 | 48 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 103 | 257 | 194 | 26 | 15 | 11 | Won first round to Tucson Roadrunners, 2–1 Won division semifinals to Colorado Eagles, 3–2 Won division finals to Calgary Wranglers, 3–2 Won conference finals to Milwaukee Admirals, 4–2 Lost Calder Cup finals to Hershey Bears, 3–4[7] |
| 2023–24 | 2023–24 | Western‡ | Pacific ↑ | 1st | 72 | 46 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 103 | 252 | 182 | 18 | 12 | 6 | Won division semifinals to Calgary Wranglers, 3–1 Won division finals to Ontario Reign, 3–0 Won conference finals to Milwaukee Admirals, 4–1 Lost Calder Cup finals to Hershey Bears, 2–4[8] |
| Totals | 144 | 92 | 32 | 11 | 7 | 206 | 509 | 376 | 44 | 27 | 17 | 2 playoff appearances | ||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Coachella Valley Firebirds hockey team statistics and history at HockeyDB.com". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Baker, Geoff (June 26, 2019). "NHL Seattle chooses Palm Springs as site for new AHL farm team". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ "2022–23 American Hockey League Standings". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Rotolo, Gina (June 25, 2023). "Bears best 'Birds' in Calder Cup Game 7". Coachella Valley Firebirds. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ "2023–24 American Hockey League Standings". HockeyDB. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Powers, Shad. "Another heartbreaker: Firebirds' season ends with 'painful' Game 6 OT loss at Hershey". The Desert Sun. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ "American Hockey League 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs". American Hockey League. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ "American Hockey League 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs". American Hockey League. Retrieved August 30, 2024.