Firebirds defeat Admirals in five games to advance to AHL finals
The Coachella Valley Firebirds defeated the Milwaukee Admirals 5-1 in Game 5 of their Western Conference Finals matchup, winning the series and advancing to their second straight Calder Cup Finals.
After entering the AHL prior to the 2022-23 season, the Firebirds have now won the Western Conference in both seasons in franchise history.
Coachella Valley rebounded after dropping Game 4 7-2. John Hayden scored a hat trick, Cale Fleury had three assists, and Chris Driedger made 32 saves to propel the Firebirds to victory.
Driedger allowed just five goals in the four Firebirds wins, and was his usual dependable self outside of the Game 4 lapse. He now has a 10-2 record and .927 save percentage in the playoffs.
Coachella Valley's depth has been apparent in their run, they have 10 players with at least seven points in the playoffs. Hayden had five goals and six points in the series, while Devin Shore had five points.
The Admirals had their young players show up as Zach L'Heureux leads the playoffs in scoring and Fedor Svechkov had six points in the series but they could not overcome Coachella Valley's team defense.
The Firebirds will play the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Hershey Bears and Cleveland Monsters.
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