The Coachella Valley Firebirds secured a 3-2 shootout victory over the Bakersfield Condors in their final regular season meeting. Tyson Jugnauth and Jani Nyman scored for the Firebirds during regulation, while J.R. Avon and Eduard Sale converted in the shootout to help the team return to winning form.
Jugnauth opened scoring just 21 seconds into the game when his shot from the left point deflected off a Condors defenseman and into the net. The goal marked Jugnauth’s seventh of the season, with assists from Kaden Hammell and Mitchell Stephens. Nyman extended Coachella Valley’s lead with his 16th goal of the year at 6:10, assisted by Jagger Firkus.
Bakersfield responded in the second period with a powerplay goal by James Hamblin at 14:27. The Condors tied it early in the third on a redirection from Isaac Howard.
Coachella Valley faced heavy pressure in the third period, being outshot 15-2 and not recording a shot until late in regulation. Despite this, they forced overtime before moving to a shootout.
Goaltender Nikke Kokko stopped both Condors attempts in the shootout, while Avon and Sale each scored for Coachella Valley. The win marked their fourth shootout victory this season and improved their record to 28-19-5-0.
Kokko made 35 saves for his twelfth win of the year as Coachella Valley was outshot overall 37-30. The Firebirds went scoreless on two powerplay opportunities but killed one of two penalties.
“Jani Nyman (CV) – Nyman scored his 16th goal of the season in the team’s win and now has goals in eight of his last ten games played.”
“J.R. Avon (CV) – Avon scored the first goal of the shootout, which turned out to be the game-winner.”
“Nikke Kokko (CV) – Kokko made 35 saves in his first home game since January 10th, including 14 saves on 15 shots in the third period.”
The Firebirds will next play against Henderson’s Silver Knights on March 4 at Lee’s Family Forum. They return home for two games against Calgary Wranglers on March 7 for Pucks-N-Pints night and March 8 for Teachers Appreciation Night.
Fans can purchase tickets starting at $20.06 using a special code via Ticketmaster or CVFirebirds.com, where parking can also be reserved through ParkWhiz to avoid higher day-of-game rates.
Season ticket memberships for next season are available now, offering discounts on concessions and various plans designed for flexibility throughout Acrisure Arena.
For upcoming seasons, fan-focused improvements include advance-purchase parking savings, affordable food options, earlier weekday start times, pregame Happy Hour events at The Oasis, among other enhancements aimed at improving accessibility and convenience.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds have achieved playoff runs and division titles early in their history according to their official website. As an American Hockey League affiliate of NHL’s Seattle Kraken official website, they bring professional hockey to California’s Coachella Valley region official website. The organization emphasizes community outreach through youth hockey development programs, education initiatives, health efforts official website, partnerships with local nonprofits supporting families official website, as well as engaging fan events official website.
