All tied up! Firebirds fall to Hershey Bears in Game 4 of Calder Cup Finals

The Coachella Valley Firebirds shut out the Hershey Bears in consecutive games to start the Calder Cup Finals. But on Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the Firebirds finished their second consecutive game without holding a lead in a 3-2 loss to the Bears in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,687.

The Firebirds’ loss evens the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. Game 5 is set for Saturday in Hershey, with Game 6 scheduled for Monday at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert. A game 7, if necessary, would be Wednesday at Acrisure Arena.

Coachella Valley dominated the first two games of the series, outscoring Hershey 9-0 in Games 1 and 2. But the Bears held on for an overtime win in Game 3 and on Thursday picked up where they left off in what felt like a must-win game for the home team.

The Bears took an early lead in the game with the help of multiple power play opportunities. The Firebirds managed just a single shot on goal through the first 13 minutes.

"Early in the game, the first 20 minutes, they dictated the pace and they forced us to deal with their speed and their skill and we took penalties as a result of it," Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma said. "They were the better team in the first period."

The Firebirds managed to escape the first period with the score tied thanks to forward Austin Poganski evening the score. Hershey scored the next two goals and held a 3-1 lead entering the third period, before forward Jesper Frödén scored to round out the scoring.

The Firebirds had come back from a 3-1 deficit in Game 3 on Tuesday to force overtime. But they couldn’t find the same magic this time. They recorded just five shots on goal in the final period and Hershey held on to force the series to go to at least six games.

"I think we have to flip the script a little bit on the Bears," Bylsma said of Saturday's Game 5. "That first period is not indicative of how we normally play. We were slapping it around a little bit and there were turnovers that caused Hershey to have momentum back at us and have opportunities in the offensive zone. Then, two penalties early on gave them momentum on the power play. That's a script we like to talk about for our team."

A crowd of more than 700 watched Thursday's game with plenty of anxiety at the Firebirds’ official watch party at Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella.

Hershey entered the game with an 8-1 record in the Calder Cup Playoffs when scoring on the power play and the Bears secured a power play goal within the first five minutes Thursday.

The Firebirds had won nine of their last 10 when scoring on the power play but failed to do so in Game 4. They were 0-for-4 on the power play and 1-of-6 on the penalty kill.

Firebirds goaltender Joey Daccord recorded 25 saves while allowing three goals. The Bears outshot the Firebirds 28-21.

Bylsma said that although the Firebirds will now have a chance to finish the series in front of a lively home crowd, the Firebirds can't lose sight of the task at hand in Game 5.

"We can't look ahead to Monday and Wednesday in the Coachella Valley," Bylsma said. "The journey has to go through Hershey and we have to bring the sense of urgency and that desperation right from the drop of the puck in Game 5 and then carry that on over."

The goals

1-0, Bears: Mike Vecchione scored to give Hershey the early lead at the 4:27 mark of the first period.

1-1: On just the second shot on goal of the game for the Firebirds, forward Austin Poganski found the back of the net to tie the game at the 12:41 mark of the first period. The goal was Poganski's second of the postseason and the assist was Shane Wright's seventh in the playoffs. Brogan Rafferty, who also assisted, recorded his 10th point of the postseason on the play.

2-1, Bears: Vecchione, who has scored just two postseason goals entering the game, recorded his second of the game at the 3:03 mark in the second period.

3-1: Ethen Frank, who did not score in his first 11 postseason games this season, found the back of the net for the second consecutive game to give the Bears a two-goal advantage at the 14:24 mark in the second period.

3-2: Jesper Frödén brought the Firebirds within a goal of a tie when he scored at the 7:01 mark of the third period. Max McCormick and Ryker Evans assisted in the play. The goal was the third of the series for Frödén, who is tied with Cameron Hughes for the team lead in goals in the Calder Cup Finals.

Ice nuggets

Shepard shines again: After giving up nine goals in the first two games inside Acrisure Arena last week, the Bears goaltender has had a strong two-game home stand. The 27-year-old from Minnesota has allowed six goals in the two previous games, making 52 saves in the process.

The play of the Firebirds' and Bears' goalies have told the story of the series. Daccord, who opened the series with consecutive shutouts, becoming the first goalie to open the Calder Cup Finals with back-to-back shutouts since 1939, was sensational in Games 1 and 2. Shepard has been the better of the two in the pair of games in Hershey.

Familiar territory: The Firebirds have won a road game against each of the three previous postseason opponents they've faced. In the previous series, versus the Milwaukee Admirals, with the series tied 2-2, the Firebirds won Game 5 on the road and finished the series with a home win in Game 6.

Andrew John covers the Coachella Valley Firebirds for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email hom at andrew.john@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Calder Cup Finals: Firebirds fall to Hershey Bears, series tied 2-2