The Hershey Bears have repeated the roar!
Hershey accomplished their second consecutive championship collection victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds with a 5-4 win in Sport 6 on Monday evening. The Bears are actually 13-time Calder Cup champions and have repeated as champions for the third time in franchise historical past.
The Cup victory is the primary for the Bears at residence since 2010 they usually did it in entrance of a record-setting crowd within the One centesimal-ever AHL playoff sport inside Large Heart. Pierrick Dubé led the cost with a hat trick effort, Hendrix Lapierre added to his league-leading level tally, and Matt Strome scored the time beyond regulation winner.
Ryan Winterton continued to be an absolute thorn in Hershey’s facet as he scored his fifth aim in six video games in opposition to the Bears on this collection. The sport’s opening marker got here simply 1:37 into the primary interval.
Winterton had only one aim in his earlier 12 playoff video games earlier than this championship collection.
Dubé responded with a power-play aim 4:14 after Winterton struck. The French-born winger potted his fifth aim by way of assists from Lapierre and Joe Snively.
Lapierre did himself one higher with simply 36 seconds remaining within the first body. The Quebec-born centerman deflected residence a Chase Priskie shot to offer the Bears a 2-1 lead.
Hershey took that 2-1 lead into the primary intermission.
Marian Studenic continued the development of early-period objectives for the Firebirds. He tied the sport simply 1:51 into the second interval.
Winterton…once more. The rookie ahead pounced on a unfastened puck in entrance of Shepard to offer Coachella Valley their lead again.
Dubé struck for his second of the sport to tie the sport with 6:08 left within the second interval. Alex Limoges created the aim with a improbable play behind the Firebirds internet and arrange Dubé within the low slot.
The 23-year-old winger has 34 objectives this season combining his common season and playoff totals.
Dubé capitalized on a nasty Firebirds turnover and completed off his hat trick. Wow.
First playoff hat trick by a Bears participant since Casey Wellman in 2015. Solely 4 earlier Hershey hat tips within the Calder Cup Finals with Alexandre Giroux potting one in 2009.
Cale Fleury discovered a unfastened puck within the slot and beat Shepard excessive over the glove to tie the sport with 2:55 left in regulation.
Simply 1:06 into time beyond regulation, Matt Strome scores the Cup-winning aim.
The championship marks the third for Todd Nelson as head coach and second with the Bears. Nelson turned the twelfth head coach in league historical past to win a number of Calder Cups final season. He’s solely the third head coach in league historical past to win Cups with totally different groups.
Hershey held the Firebirds to beneath 10 photographs in all three regulation durations. Ethen Frank completed tied for probably the most playoff objectives within the AHL this season with 10.
ROAR = REPEATED pic.twitter.com/DXeQojF74J
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) June 25, 2024
Coachella Valley misplaced back-to-back championship collection in opposition to the Bears and can now go into the offseason searching for a brand new teaching employees. Dan Bylsma would be the Seattle Kraken’s bench boss subsequent 12 months and is predicted to carry a few of his AHL employees with him.
Listed here are Hershey’s traces from the win:
Projected lineup for Sport 6! 📝
Catch the published:
📺 @fox43.2 (Antenna TV), @MonSportsNet (DC area)
🖥️ https://t.co/HaxQBmLCRZ
📻 @FroggyValley, @foxsports1460am, @WOYK1350, @CapitalsRadio pic.twitter.com/GhA2uh6UN7— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) June 24, 2024