Hughes Nets Shootout Winner in Coachella Valley’s Fifth Straight Victory
The Firebirds defeated the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday night in a shootout at Acrisure Arena by the final score of 4-3. Max McCormick and Cameron Hughes scored in the shootout to help the Firebirds tie the Calgary Wranglers in the Pacific Division standings with 98 points. With the win, Coachella Valley has now won five games in a row.
The first goal of the game did not come until the Firebirds went to the powerplay early in the second period. Max McCormick and Tye Kartye teamed up to find Kole Lind who ripped a shot past Aaron Dell to put Coachella Valley up 1-0. Lind’s goal was his 29th of the season and was scored at 3:45.
The Barracuda answered just over three minutes later with a pair of goals to gain the lead. Kyle Criscuolo’s tally at 6:54 tied the game and Daniil Guschin put San Jose ahead 35 seconds later.
The Firebirds pulled even with their second powerplay goal of the game, this time early in the third period. Ryker Evans put a pass right on the tape of Cameron Hughes, who let a one-timer fly to tie the game at 2:45. The goal was Hughes’ 18th of the season and the secondary assist belonged to Tye Kartye.
Coachella Valley was back on top with 5:24 left in the game. Carsen Twarynski drove to the front of the net from behind the cage and flipped the puck over Dell’s pads to make it 3-2 Coachella Valley. Twarynski’s goal was his 17th of the season.
With their goaltender pulled in the closing minutes of contest, Andrew Agozzino batted the puck out of mid-air to tie the game, sending the game to overtime.
After the five-minute overtime, no victor was declared. For the second time this season, the Firebirds and Barracuda were destined for a shootout.
Tristen Robins got the scoring started for San Jose and Max McCormick evened it up in the third round. Cameron Hughes went five-hole on Dell to give Coachella Valley the advantage in round four and Chris Driedger denied Luke Johnson to seal the victory.
Driedger made 20 saves in the win that moves Coachella Valley to a record of 46-14-4-2. The Firebirds’ powerplay went 2-for-7 and the penalty kill finished 5-for-5.
NEXT GAME: The Firebirds and Calgary Wranglers battle for the top spot in the Pacific Division on Wednesday, April 5th. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm PT at Acrisure Arena.
Season tickets for the Firebirds’ 2023-24 campaign are on sale now! For a full list of benefits and more information on Season Ticket Memberships for the 2023-24 season, click HERE or call 760-835-8778.
Individual game tickets start at $19 for all Firebirds home games. Group tickets for 10 more fans are available starting at $18 and the Firebirds Flex Plan starting at $20 featuring six or 12 tickets that can be used for any home game during the 2022-23 season at Acrisure Arena.
For more information and to purchase, please visit www.cvfirebirds.com or call 760-835-8778. View the team’s full game and promotional schedule, including theme night events at www.cvfirebirds.com/schedule.