The Coachella Valley Firebirds secured a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Eagles on Friday night at Blue Arena. Carson Rehkopf scored with 2:30 remaining in the third period, and goaltender Victor Ostman recorded his second shutout of the season by stopping all 17 shots from Colorado.
After two scoreless periods, Lleyton Roed entered the offensive zone and passed to Rehkopf between the circles. Although Rehkopf’s initial shot missed, he collected the rebound near the crease and scored his 11th goal of the season. Ty Nelson received a secondary assist on the play.
Jani Nyman added an empty-net goal with 12 seconds left in regulation, assisted by Nelson. This marked Nyman’s 14th goal of the season and helped secure the win for Coachella Valley.
Ostman’s performance brought him his 12th win this year as he stopped every shot from Colorado. The Firebirds outshot their opponents 25-17. They finished without a powerplay goal in four opportunities but successfully killed off their only penalty. With this result, Coachella Valley improved its record to 27-17-5-0.
Trent Miner, goaltender for Colorado, made 23 saves on 24 shots and allowed just one goal during regulation.
The three stars of the game were announced as follows:
3.) Trent Miner (COL) – The Eagles goaltender made 23 saves on 24 shots and only surrendered one goal in the defeat.
2.) Victor Ostman (CV) – Ostman stopped all 17 Eagles attempts to secure his second shutout of the season and 12th win of the year.
1.) Carson Rehkopf (CV) – Rehkopf scored the game-winning goal with 2:30 left in regulation to help the Firebirds to victory.
The Firebirds will complete their road trip with another matchup against Colorado on Saturday, February 21st in Loveland, CO.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds serve as an American Hockey League affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, bringing professional hockey to their region as part of an expansion franchise in the Pacific Division. Since their early seasons, they have reached deep playoff runs and earned division titles according to their official website. The organization also supports community initiatives such as youth hockey development, education programs, health efforts, and partnerships with local nonprofits through its foundation [source].
Fans are offered various ticket packages including half-season plans and premium seating options at Acrisure Arena. For more information about ticket packages or premium club experiences that feature VIP amenities and food options, visit the team’s website.
To enhance fan experience for upcoming seasons, changes include advance-purchase parking savings, new food choices aimed at affordability, earlier weekday start times for games, pregame Happy Hour events at The Oasis, among other updates [source].
More details about tickets or community engagement can be found at CVFirebirds.com, where fans can also stay updated by following @Firebirds on social media.
