Trent Miner registered his fourth shutout of the postseason – and his third in a Game 1 – to backstop Colorado to a 3-0 win over Coachella Valley in the opener of their Pacific Division finals series in Palm Desert on Wednesday night.
Down 1-0 in the best-of-five matchup, the Firebirds host Game 2 on Friday before the series finishes in Colorado.
Ronnie Attard and T.J. Hughes scored second-period goals to provide the Eagles with all the offense they would need, and Miner (6-1) did the rest, making 10 of his 20 saves in the third frame. Miner raised his postseason save percentage to .958 in seven starts, having allowed seven goals on 168 shots.
Tye Felhaber added an empty-net goal for Colorado with 9.6 seconds remaining.
Nikke Kokko (5-4) made 29 saves for Coachella Valley.
(Colorado leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Wed., May 13 – Colorado 3, COACHELLA VALLEY 0
Game 2 – Fri., May 15 – Colorado at Coachella Valley, 10:00
Game 3 – Sun., May 17 – Coachella Valley at Colorado, 8:05
*Game 4 – Wed., May 20 – Coachella Valley at Colorado, 9:05
*Game 5 – Fri., May 22 – Coachella Valley at Colorado, 9:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
