This is the first installment of a new feature called Firebirds Friday. Each Friday during the Coachella Valley Firebirds season we will wrap up the week that passed and get you ready for the week ahead, with the news, numbers, videos, wild stats, compelling quotes and hot takes packaged in a fun and easy-to-digest way. We hope you'll like it.
Welcome to Firebirds Friday. We always like to start out with something fun you won't find anywhere else.
Here is Jagger Firkus answering some rapid-fire questions on video so that you can get to know him a little better.
My favorite answer? That's an easy one. We asked him simple things like favorite hobby, favorite restaurant and then we asked him who his favorite musician was. He just mentioned some dude
he knows: "His name's Mike ... also Luke Combs."
If you are a Firebirds fan and you are not following our Instagram (@desertsunsports) and TikTok (@desertsun.news) you should. We're bolstering our coverage in those formats this year, including video recaps after most home games, and fun player videos that showcase their personalities off the ice.
Just the Firebird facts
- Current record: 2-1-2-0
- Current place in Pacific Division standings: Three-way tie for second place
- Leading point-scorers: Tyson Jugnauth (8), Jani Nyman (7), Jagger Firkus (7)
- Leading goal-scorers: Nyman (6), Eduard Sale (3), Firkus-Logan Morrison-JR Avon (2)
- Plus/minus leaders: Ty Nelson, Nyman, Sale, Gustav Olofsson all at plus-4.
The week that was, rapid recap
Friday, Oct. 9: Firebirds 6, Gulls 3 — A fun night at Acrisure Arena as the Firebirds scored early and often. Logan Morrison playing in his first game scored twice and had an an assist. Jani Nyman scored his sixth goal in three games. Nikke Kokko played great in net in the third period.
Sunday, Oct. 11: Reign 3, Firebirds 2 (OT) — The second time already this year at Acrisure Arena, the Reign forced a game into OT that the Firebirds led by two goals and then won it in the extra session. Eduard Sale and Lleyton Roed scored for CV but the Reign outshot the Firebirds 39-17 in the game.
Wednesday, Oct. 14: Silver Knights 4, Firebirds 0 — The first real clunker of the year, and the first game they did not add at least a point in the standings. The killer? An 0 for 7 effort on the power play, while Henderson scored three of its four goals with the man advantage.
Player of the Week
Jani Nyman: Despite a pair of goal-less games, Nyman still leads the AHL in goals and is on pace for more than a goal a game which would be an AHL record. He has six goals in five games and that slapshot from his favorite power play spot is back.
Happy stat
Fast start: A lot of the happy stats got less happy after Wednesday's 4-0 loss where they went 0 for 7 on the power play, but the offense is still cooking. The fact remains that the Firebirds 2-0-2 start marked the first time in the team's five-year history that they got at least a point in each of their first four games.
Sad stat
OT, no glee: The Firebirds have played two overtime games, both against the Reign and in both cases they lost and they've only gotten off one total shot in those extra periods. Yes, a three-on-three OT has a lot of random-ness to it, but those are valuable extra points not gained. As a friend of mine likes to say, "A point earned in October is one you don't have to earn in April" and for a team that has Pacific Division title aspirations, missing out on those could prove costly.
Quote of the Week
Logan Morrison on what feels like a loaded roster with several returning players: "Finding that balance of confidence and not expecting everything to just come to us. I think we're a confident group and you look at our lineup and every game we go into we think we should win. That's kind of our mindset, but we're not going out there cocky and thinking everything is going to come easy."
How we're feeling
Excited because: Despite Wednesday's loss, this is one of the best starts in team history, and what's been fun is to see the offense clicking so well. The first three games, it felt like piranha swarming its prey. With waves of speedy skaters firing shots and tape-to-tape passes. It was the kind of offensive cohesion where everyone was on the same page we haven't seen in a while here. All four lines have talented scorers on them. It's going to be a fun team to watch all year.
Concerned because: A bugaboo that seemed to plague the team last year has already raised its head a few times and that's holding leads. Both overtime losses were games in which the Firebirds led by two goals at some point in the game. Putting teams away and closing out wins when they've got an opponent on the ropes, whether that's a stonewall defense, a goalie standing on his head or an offense getting that add-on goal to create even more separation, is an area I'd like to see more consistently.
This week's Firebirds poll
Each week will ask you a Firebirds-related poll question. Here we go!
The week ahead
- Saturday, Oct. 17: at Abbotsford, 7 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 18: at Abbotsford, 4 p.m.
- Wednesday, Oct. 21: at San Diego, 7 p.m.
Let sports editor Shad Powers know what you think, or what you would like to see more of in year five of our coverage of Firebirds hockey. Email him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: It's Firebirds Friday, a new weekly feature dedicated to Firebirds fans
