Wranglers blank Firebirds to even series

Photo: Daniel Stopani

The Calgary Wranglers forced a decisive Game 5 in the Pacific Division finals with a 1-0 victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds at Acrisure Arena on Wednesday night.

Tied at two games apiece, the series will be decided on Friday night with the winner advancing to the Western Conference Finals against either Milwaukee or Texas.

Bouncing back from Monday’s triple-overtime loss, Calgary got a power-play goal from Cole Schwindt 7:20 into the second period for the game’s only offense.

Dustin Wolf stopped all 27 shots he faced for the Wranglers, earning his fourth career playoff shutout.

Joey Daccord made 31 saves for the Firebirds, who will play a winner-take-all game for the third consecutive series this postseason.

Pacific Division Finals (best-of-5)
P1-Calgary Wranglers vs. P2-Coachella Valley Firebirds
Game 1 – Thu., May 11 – Coachella Valley 6, CALGARY 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., May 12 – CALGARY 3, Coachella Valley 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Mon., May 15 – COACHELLA VALLEY 3, Calgary 2 (3OT) | Recap
Game 4 – Wed., May 17 – Calgary 1, COACHELLA VALLEY 0
Game 5 – Fri., May 19 – Calgary at Coachella Valley, 10:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern