PALM DESERT, Calif. (Nov. 12, 2026) – Patrick Giles scored his second goal of the season, but the San Jose Barracuda (6-9-0-0) couldn't overcome a two-goal first-period deficit, falling 2-1 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds (6-5-3-1) on Thursday night at Acrisure Arena. San Jose outshot Coachella Valley 36-20, including 28-13 over the final two periods, but Firebirds netminder Victor Östman turned aside 35 shots to hand the Barracuda their second consecutive loss.

Coachella Valley opened the scoring at 4:33 of the first period when Ryden Evers netted his second goal of the season, finishing a feed from J.R. Avon as he came down the left wing. The Firebirds doubled their advantage at 15:21 when Ian McKinnon tipped home his third goal of the year. Despite holding an 8-7 edge in shots, San Jose entered the first intermission trailing 2-0.

The Barracuda controlled much of the middle frame, outshooting the Firebirds 16-7 before finally breaking through at 18:41. During a delayed penalty, Giles slid home a pass from Ethan Cardwell at the top of the crease for his second goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Brett Leason also collected an assist on the play.

San Jose continued to press in the third period, drawing three power-play opportunities, but couldn't find the equalizer as Östman turned aside all 12 shots he faced in the final frame.

The Barracuda finished 0-for-7 on the power play and have now gone 0-for-16 over their last six games. Matt Davis made 18 saves on 20 shots in the loss, while Östman earned first-star honors with his 35-save performance. Ethan Cardwell led San Jose with five shots on goal, while Tye Felhaber finished with four.

BOX SCORE

San Jose will now return home to Tech CU Arena on Saturday, Nov. 14, to host the San Diego Gulls for its annual Teddy Bear Toss Night, presented by Kaiser Permanente. For tickets, visit sjbarracuda.com/tickets.