The Firebirds defeated the Calgary Wranglers on Wednesday night by the final score of 8-2. With the victory, the Firebirds remain in first place in the Pacific Division, capturing their 69th and 70th points of the season.
The Firebirds set a franchise record for most goals in a single period, netting seven goals during the second. Daniel Sprong recorded a natural hat trick to Coachella Valley to the two-game sweep of the Wranglers. Goaltender Victor Ostman made 14 saves to pick up his first AHL victory. Ian McKinnon notched his first career multi-goal game.
QUICK NOTES
- Sam Morton opened the scoring, putting the Wranglers on the board just 34 seconds into the game.
- Ian McKinnon found the tying tally at 17:06 after David Goyette’s shot was stopped by goaltender Walterri Ignatjew but fell behind him where McKinnon knocked the puck home. The goal was McKinnon’s fifth of the season and first of the game. Tucker Robertson earned the secondary assist.
- The Firebirds scored a franchise-record seven times in the second period (previous record was five, which happened five times – last time was January 16, 2025, vs. HSK) The goals were:
- Mitchell Stephens (5th) – Jagger Firkus, Tye Kartye – :48
- John Hayden (11th) – Tye Kartye – 4:28
- Ty Nelson (6th) – Max Lajoie, David Goyette – 8:08
- Ian McKinnon (6th) – Tucker Robertson – 10:30 (Devin Cooley replaced Ignatjew in goal for CGY)
- Daniel Sprong (9th) – Brandon Biro, Ty Nelson – 11:09
- Daniel Sprong (10th) – Logan Morrison, Cale Fleury – 11:55
- Daniel Sprong (11th) – Unassisted – 18:10
- Sprong’s hat trick was the third this season for Coachella Valley (Ben Meyers, Cale Fleury) and the ninth in franchise history.
- Tucker Robertson was awarded a penalty shot at the end of the second period but did not convert.
- The Wranglers scored the only goal of the third period courtesy of Yan Kuznetsov to make it an 8-2 game with 2:45 remaining.
- Coachella Valley’s record improves to 32-18-1-5 on the season and keeps them atop the Pacific Division with 70 points. The Firebirds have won seven of their last eight games.
- The Firebirds went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and finished the game 1-for-3 on the powerplay.
- The Firebirds outshot the Wranglers 43 to 25.
Read the game’s full box score HERE.
