Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Dan Bylsma he sighed heavily before speaking, struggling to get through his post-match press conference.
“It hurts a lot,” Bylsma said after Monday's overtime loss to Hershey in Game 6 ended the Coachella Valley Firebirds' season just short of the Calder Cup championship for the second year in a row. “But it's very sad because of the team we had, the work they put in, how they came together as a team, and the people they are. They are outstanding, and that is why the result is crushed.
“They're an amazing group of guys.”
said the captain Max McCormick, “It's been an amazing team. Just coming to the rink every day was a blast. I mean, we had a lot of fun together, but at the same time everyone worked hard all year in the gym, on the ice, always trying to compete and push each other.”
After last year's Game 7 overtime loss at home, the Firebirds planned to write a different ending to the latest chapter in an unlikely national rivalry between the AHL's top franchise and its rookie.
They went up 2-1 in the series, handing the Bears a 6-2 loss in Game 3. They are 7-0 at home this postseason, and have two more games ahead of them at Acrisure Arena. It seemed entirely possible to imagine that this could be the Firebirds' year, perhaps even hoisting the Calder trophy in front of their rabid fans to send Bylsma to his new job as head coach of the Seattle Kraken as a champion.
Instead, a one-goal loss followed, sending the series back to Hershey with the Bears holding a 3-2 lead. Then the Firebirds saw one lead disappear in a see-saw Game 6 before Cale FleuryThe goal with 2:55 left in regulation sent the game into overtime at 4-4.
And then it ended suddenly.
Loose puck recovered Matt Strome on a piece of open ice, and shot through Chris Driedger just a second before the defender Connor Carrick he can dive across the slot to break the opportunity.
It was over.
While the Bears and Giant Center erupted in celebration, the Firebirds were crushed. They shook hands and returned to their dressing room, the sound of 11,013 cheering fans – a Giant Center record – reaching the walls.
About as true as it gets here. Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma shows raw emotion following another playoff loss to the Hershey Bears. Dan is a competitor, a lover, a fighter – and he will be missed in the Coachella Valley. @KESQ pic.twitter.com/JC4fzvPDgg
-Blake Arthur (@BlakeArthur24) June 25, 2024
But when the pain subsides, this team will have a lot to brag about. It begins by bringing hockey to what used to be the open desert of Interstate 10 in southern California. Acrisure Arena, which opened its doors 18 months ago, is a thriving venue and one of the AHL's most impressive facilities. The idea that the business would only be supported by snowbirds flocking to the area every winter for sunshine and warmth was quickly dispelled as local residents – people who had never followed the game before the team's arrival in 2022 – quickly became die-hard fans. Hockey development programs for kids and adults are thriving in the Coachella Valley.
“It was an honor,” McCormick said.
A bounce here, a loose puck there, and either of the last two Calder Cup Finals could have had different outcomes. The Firebirds dominated play for large parts of both series, but Hershey was 7-1 in one-goal games, winning four times in overtime.
It didn't happen for Bylsma's team. Hockey can be brutal that way.
“This is where I say I'm sorry because we didn't get what we should have,” he said. “I think that what those guys did and what those players put on the ice should have earned them a title. There is a lot of pride in the last two years. Not getting the final award will leave marks.”
So Bylsma leaves for Seattle. Several players have carved out roles for themselves in the Kraken roster. Others must be freelancers. There will be 31 other NHL organizations hungry to sign players like those who have worn the Firebirds jersey for the past two seasons.
All these practices, games, long bus rides, breakfast and dinner together, ended in this group.
“The hardest part is knowing that this team will never be the same,” McCormick said. “We will never be together again. That's a hard pill to swallow. He is just enjoying the time and memories we made together, and it is a group we will never forget. We definitely build a brotherhood in the locker room.
“Just being with the boys, that's the best part.”
There isn't much a captain, coach, or anyone can say to ease the pain of missing out on the Calder Cup. But Bylsma tried anyway.
“It doesn't need to end at the competition for them to know how good they are as a team, how good they are as individuals, how we came together as a team,” he explained. “You would have liked it to end in the tournament, but it didn't happen. But that doesn't take away from what that team has become and what these individual players are.
“He appreciates each of them.”
Near the end of his postgame remarks, Bylsma sighed, leaned back, took a deep breath, and tried to contain himself.
“Something you said after the game: we got the joy of playing the game,” he said. “We found love in this game and this team. Thank you for that, and I want to take that with me.”
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has covered the American Hockey League for nearly two decades at outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM ! Sports, and most recently was the host of The Hockey News On The 'A' podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league's top scorer in 2016.
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