with files from Patrick Williams
Day 3 of the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs features one series in progress, with one team trying to advance to the divisional semifinals.
The last of the seven-game first-round series is tonight as Bakersfield hosts Coachella Valley in Game 1. It will be the Condors’ last shot at home ice in the series, which shifts to Palm Desert for Games 2 and 3.
Bakersfield was 25-8-3-0 at Dignity Health Arena this season, the third-best home record in the league behind only Ontario and Providence. The Condors have also won all four home meetings with the Firebirds, part of a 6-1-0-1 overall record in the season series.
Bakersfield’s offense has been powered by two of their starters this season Quinn Hutson (30-33-63) and Isaac Howard (24-26-50), who became the first team player to make the AHL All-Rookie Team forward since Rochester JJ Peterka again Jack Quinn in 2021-22. Captain Seth Griffith (18-49-67) finished fifth in the league in points and was his team’s leading scorer for the eighth time in his career – including each of Bakersfield’s last five years.
Coachella Valley was 22-12-2-0 on the road in 2025-26, its fourth consecutive 20-win road season since entering the league in 2022-23. Seven of the Firebirds’ top players this season were 23 and under, led by third-year champion Logan Morrison (29-32-61), second year pro Jagger Firkus (21-35-56) and rookie defenseman Tyson Jugnauth (9-36-45).
The Hershey Bears can eliminate the Bridgeport Islanders with another win tonight as they host Game 2 at the Giant Center.
Hershey scored first in the series with a 2-0 victory on Tuesday night, ending the Islanders’ 10-game home winning streak. Rookie defender David GucciardiWashington’s seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, who scored just three goals in 52 games during the regular season, scored with 7:29 left in Game 1.
“Both teams were waiting for someone to make a mistake,” said the Bears coach Derek Kinga first-round pick for the Islanders who played 638 games on Long Island. “Both teams played hard, they were good in the basket, they pressured us at times, and we would tilt the ice, and wait for one mistake. It was a game of checkers or chess, whatever you want to call it, but we found a way to do it.”
Ilya Protas added an empty-net goal with 1.1 seconds left, and Clay Stevenson made 18 saves in his first season shutout and first Calder Cup Playoff appearance of his career.
Marcus Högberg got the start in Game 1 against Bridgeport and stopped 21 of 22 shots in his Calder Cup Playoff debut.
The Islanders look to extend not only their season tonight, but also their 25-year history in Bridgeport. New York is moving its AHL affiliate to Hamilton, Ont., in the fall.
