Firebirds Goalie Kokko's 33-Save Shutout Evens Pacific Division Finals
Coachella Valley Firebirds goalie Nikke Kokko (35) who was awarded Player of the Game Award for his 33-Save Shutout (Source: The Coachella Valley Firebirds beat the Colorado Eagles 4-0 in Game Two of the Pacific Division Finals to level the series at one apiece. For a vast majority of the first frame, Colorado outshot Coachella Valley 9-3. It was only in the final 5:45 minutes did the Firebirds outshoot the Eagles 7-4 to show some late period resistance.
However, the frame ended with zero goals on the board. It was a similar story in the second period where Colorado outshot Coachella Valley 8-3 for a vast bulk of the frame and then the Firebirds put up most of their shots, four straight, in just the final 3:09 minutes. Yet, again no team scored into the second break.
But in the beginning of the third period, Coachella Valley would not only take charge and start off with the first three shots by the 2:31 mark, but the latter two would convert into goals via shots from the slot by forwards JR Avon and Eduard Sale to go up 2-0. After that, the Eagles would outshoot the Firebirds 12-5 till the end of the game but still it was Coachella Valley that got a second goal from Avon and an empty-netter to nab Game Two and tie the best-of-five series 1-1. While the Firebirds went empty in their three man-advantage situations, the Eagles going 0-for-4 in their own power plays will be magnified more as a result of the loss.
Coachella Valley goalie Nikke Kokko registered a 33-save shutout Colorado goalie Trent Miner made 21 saves off 24 shots for a save percentage of 0. 875.