The HERSHEY BEARS Hockey Club won its 10th
Calder
Cup Saturday night, defeating Manitoba 4-1 to win the
best-of-seven American Hockey League championship
series four games to two. The win came in Game 6 at
MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The BEARS won 16 games this postseason to claim the title against just six losses. The Calder Cup win is the team's second in the last four years, also claiming in that span two East Division regular season championships, three Eastern Conference titles and the 2006 Calder Cup. HERSHEY has now advanced to the Calder Cup Finals a record 21 times.
Goaltender Michal Neuvirth, at the tender age of 21, won the Jack Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player in the 2009 Calder Cup playoffs. The championship is the second for the Washington Capitals organization this spring, as HERSHEY'S ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, won the Kelly Cup last week.
Giroux stands alone, again: Left Wing Alexandre Giroux added one more record Saturday night to his record breaking season. With his first period goal against Manitoba's Cory Schneider, Giroux collected his 15th goal of the 2009 Calder Cup playoffs, a new HERSHEY record for most goals scored in a single postseason. He had been tied with former BEARS centerman Kris Beech, who scored 14 en route to a 2006 Calder Cup victory. The record adds to what was arguably the best offensive season by an American Hockey League player ever. Giroux scored 75 goals regular season and postseason combined , the most by one player in league history. He also set an AHL record in January by scoring a goal in 16 straight games. Giroux, with 28 points to go with his 15 goals, fell just four points short of Tomas Fleischmann's club record in a single postseason. Fleischmann notched 32 points in HERSHEY'S 2006 Calder Cup win.
Neuvirth is most valuable: Goaltender Michal Neuvirth, who didn't even become the team's number one goaltender until March, won his 16th and final game of the postseason Saturday night. Neuvirth finished the 2009 postseason with a 16-6 record and a 1.92 goals against average. The 1.92 GAA is a new franchise record for one postseason, besting Frederic Cassivi's mark of 2.10 during the 2006 Calder Cup playoffs. The 16 wins also tie Neuvirth for an American Hockey League record for the most wins in a single postseason.
A new record for greatness: With a 10th Calder Cup championship, the BEARS have now won more American Hockey League titles than any other franchise. HERSHEY had been tied with the Cleveland Barons with nine Calder Cups after winning the championship in 2006.
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