Firebirds win instant classic in triple overtime, take 1-0 series lead

The Coachella Valley Firebirds lead the best-of-three series 1-0 after a 4-3 win over the Calgary Wranglers in triple overtime on Tuesday night at Acrisure Arena. Mitchell Stephens got a piece of Ville Ottavainen's shot at 102:00 to beat Wranglers' goaltender Waltteri Ignatjew. The Firebirds held a commanding three-goal lead, with goals from John Hayden, Brandon Biro and Mitchell Stephens. The  Wranglers crawled all the way back to tie the game and force overtime with seven seconds left on the clock in the third period. After two scoreless overtime periods, the rest is history. Game two is Saturday night at Acrisure Arena at 6 p.m.