The Hershey Bears will face the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the 2023 Calder Cup Finals. The Firebirds punched their ticket to the finals Monday night with a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals, taking their best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series, four games to two. They become the first California team in AHL history to make it to the Calder Cup Finals.
Game 1 of the series will be Thursday at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, California. The series will be a 2-3-2 format with the Firebirds having home-ice advantage.
The Firebirds, the AHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, are in their inaugural season. As a result, the AHL’s newest franchise now faces the league’s oldest franchise in the Finals.
The Firebirds are coached by former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma. Jessica Campbell, the first full-time female coach in the AHL, is an assistant to Bylsma.
The Firebirds finished the 2022-23 regular season with the AHL’s second-best record at 48-17-5-2 and are 12-7 in 19 postseason games.
Keep an eye out for our full series preview due out later today.