Coachella Valley Firebirds goalie Logan Terness congratulates forward John Hayden goal he scored against the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Tuesday APR 14, 2026. (San Jose Barracuda)
by Marko Ukalovic
SAN JOSE — The Coachella Valley Firebirds scored two goals in the third period to turn a close game into a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday evening at Tech CU Arena.
San Jose has lost five games in a row and nine out of its last 10. Coachella Valley snapped its three-game losing streak. The Barracuda can finish no higher than the fourth seed in the Pacific Division.
Coachella Valley (40-24-6-0-86 points) drew first blood early in the first period. Jacob Melanson centered the puck to the middle of the crease from behind the goal line. Logan Morrison tapped home the puck into the back of the net for his team-leading 28th goal of the season at the 5:21 mark. Morrison has scored four goals in seven games against San Jose this season.
The Firebirds doubled its lead 51 seconds later. After a faceoff win, John Hayden skated the down the left wing and beat Cuda goalie Laurent Brossoit with a backhander to the short side for his 13th goal of the season. Mitchell Stephens recorded the only assist on Hayden’s second goal in his last 30 games.
San Jose (39-27-2-2-82 points) only generated six shots in the opening frame despite having the period’s only power play opportunity. Firebirds goalie Logan Terness had a quiet opening 20 minutes.
The second period featured a much better offensive effort by San Jose despite a scoreless period. The Cuda outshot the Firebirds 14-9, including a flurry of shots and scoring chances in the final minute of the middle frame, only to have Terness come up with big saves to keep a goose egg on the scoreboard for San Jose heading into the second intermission.
San Jose cut the deficit in half early in the third period with a 5-on-3 power play goal. Kasper Halttunen sent a puck into the crease that was blocked out in front. Filip Bystedt made a quick backhand pass out to Quentin Musty who buried a one-timer past Terness for his 20th goal of the season at the 3:10 mark.
Coachella Valley regained its two-goal lead at the 12:33 mark. Cooper Marody gathered the puck from the end boards and skated back up top before unloading a wrist shot that beat Brossoit through a sea of traffic in front of the crease for his 11th goal of the season.
The Firebirds put the game away just over two minutes later when a shot by Lleyton Roed sneaked underneath the pads of Brossoit and Marody tucked home the rebound for his second goal of the game and 12th of the season at the 14:48 mark.
Terness (1-0-1) finished the game stopping 30 of the 31 shots to earn his first victory in the AHL. Brossoit (15-10-1) made 27 saves on 31 shots in the losing effort.
GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-3 on the power play. Coachella Valley went 0-for-2.
The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Marody 2) Hayden 3) Terness.
UP NEXT: San Jose travels down to the central valley to take on the Bakersfield Condors on Friday April 17th at 7:00pm at Dignity Health Arena.
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