Coachella Valley Falls to Bakersfield 2-1 to Kickoff 2024-25 Season
The Coachella Valley Firebirds, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, fell to the Bakersfield Condors on Friday night at Acrisure Arena by the final score of 2-1. Jagger Firkus scored his first professional goal and Ales Stezka made 23 saves in the defeat.
Bakersfield opened the scoring halfway through the first period as Drake Caggiula ripped a shot off the post and in. Caggiula picked up the puck off a keep from defenseman Cam Dineen at 10:17 to put the Condors.
After a scoreless middle frame, the Condors added to their lead in the first minute of the third. Matvey Petrov drove to the front of the net and batted home a feed from Matt Savoie to make it 2-0.
Coachella Valley finally broke through at 5:45 of the third period. Jagger Firkus came down the right wing and roofed the puck past Olivier Rodrigue to pull the Firebirds within a goal. Brandon Biro and Ty Nelson earned the assists with Nelson’s being his first in the AHL.
Bakersfield held on in the final minutes to win 2-1. The Firebirds outshot the Condors 30-25 and finished the game 0-for-1 on the powerplay and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
The Firebirds host the Calgary Wranglers this Wednesday, October 16th at 7:00pm. Wednesday is a $5 Beer Night!
Read the game’s full box score HERE.
Get a jump on the 2024-25 Firebirds season with individual, full season, half season and 9-game Pick ‘Em Plan ticket packages on sale now! In addition to all Firebirds home games, full season ticket packages include access to the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Spotlight29, along with special events, gifts, membership perks, and more! Click HERE to learn more about securing your seat for next season!
Stay up to date on the latest Firebirds’ news and info by visiting CVFirebirds.com and by following the team on social media @Firebirds.
