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AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Depart for California to Open Calder Cup Finals

June 6, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2023 playoffs, presented by Penn State Health, as they will head west this afternoon to play for their 12th championship banner in franchise history, as Hershey makes its league-record 24th appearance in the Calder Cup Finals. The Bears will battle the expansion Coachella Valley Firebirds for AHL supremacy in a best-of-seven series that begins on Thursday, June 8 at Acrisure Arena.

PLAYOFFS TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Mason Morelli, Aliaksei Protas (5)

Assists: Joe Snively (9)

Points: Aliaksei Protas (12)

Power-Play Goals: Aliaksei Protas (2)

Shorthanded Goals: N/A

Plus/Minus: Logan Day, Lucas Johansen (+7)

Wins: Hunter Shepard (10)

GAA: Hunter Shepard (1.85)

SV%: Hunter Shepard (.929)

Only includes qualified players on active roster

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF JUNE 5:

Monday, June 5

Practice at 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center

Tuesday, June 6

Practice at 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center

Travel to Coachella Valley

All practices are open to the public. Practice dates and times are subject to change as the Calder Cup Finals series progresses.

CALDER CUP FINALS SERIES SCHEDULE:

Game 1: Thursday, June 8 - Hershey at Coachella Valley, 10 p.m.

Game 2: Saturday, June 10 - Hershey at Coachella Valley, 10 p.m.

Game 3: Tuesday, June 13 - Hershey vs. Coachella Valley, 7 p.m. - BUY TICKETS

Game 4: Thursday, June 15 - Hershey vs. Coachella Valley, 7 p.m. - BUY TICKETS

*Game 5: Saturday, June 17 - Hershey vs. Coachella Valley, 7 p.m. - BUY TICKETS

*Game 6: Monday, June 19 - Hershey at Coachella Valley, 10 p.m.

*Game 7: Wednesday, June 21 - Hershey at Coachella Valley, 10 p.m.

* If necessary

all times Eastern

TV Coverage: To be announced; Video Coverage: AHLTV; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network, Capitals Radio Network; Tickets: HersheyBears.com

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

HOW WE GOT HERE:

The Bears are making their league-record 24th appearance in the Calder Cup Finals, and their first since 2016. After finishing the regular season with a 44-19-5-4 record, good for second place in the Atlantic Division and fourth overall in league standings, Hershey dispatched the Charlotte Checkers three games to one in the Atlantic Division Semifinals, swept the upstart Hartford Wolf Pack three games to none in the Atlantic Division Finals, and conquered the Rochester Americans four games to two in the Eastern Conference Finals. Coachella Valley, playing in its first season, finished second in both the Pacific Division and the league standings with a regular-season record of 48-17-5-2. The Firebirds took down the Tucson Roadrunners two games to one in the first round, knocked off the Colorado Eagles three games to two in the Pacific Division Semifinals, then edged the first-place Calgary Wranglers three games to two in the Pacific Division Finals, and took down the Milwaukee Admirals four games to two in the Western Conference Finals.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK:

The Coachella Valley Firebirds are in their first season of existence after being admitted as an expansion franchise affiliated with the NHL's newest club, the Seattle Kraken. Last season, Seattle's top prospects were assigned to the Charlotte Checkers as part of a shared affiliation agreement with the Florida Panthers. The matchup between Hershey and Coachella Valley represents the first-ever Calder Cup Finals held across the Eastern and Pacific time zones, and features the oldest franchise against the youngest. Hershey is no stranger to this uncommon matchup - the Bears previously faced the first-year Texas Stars in 2010, winning four games to two.

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN':

This Calder Cup Finals series marks the first time the Bears will have played a game of consequence against a team from California in 55 years. While the American Hockey League did not expand into California until the 2015-16 season, the Bears are no stranger to the west coast. Hershey previously played California-based teams during the 1965-66 and 1967-68 regular seasons as part of an interlocking schedule with the now-defunct Western Hockey League (1952-74), which included games against the San Francisco Seals, Los Angeles Blades, and San Diego Gulls. The last time Hershey played a team from the Golden State was Feb. 7, 1968 at San Diego.

FIREBIRDS HOLDING HOME ICE:

Thanks to a second-place finish in the overall standings during the regular season, the Firebirds hold home ice advantage for the Calder Cup Finals at Acrisure Arena. Coachella Valley's home venue was not ready until Dec. 18, so the Firebirds began the season based out of the Pacific Northwest, playing four "home" games at venues including Climate Pledge Arena, home of their parent club, the NHL's Seattle Kraken. In spite of the logistical challenges, Coachella Valley finished the regular season with the top home mark, going 26-7-1-2 overall; that home ice advantage has continued in the postseason, as the Firebirds own a 9-3 record. While the Bears own a 5-8 series record in Calder Cup Finals in which the opposing team held home ice advantage, Hershey enters the Finals with a remarkable 6-0 road record, a streak that is tied for the franchise record for the most consecutive road wins by a Bears squad in a single postseason. That feat matches the 2006 championship team (which won its first six road contests before Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Portland) and the 1988 champions (which won all six of its road games en route to Banner No. 7).

FAMILIAR FACE:

Firebirds blueliner Eddie Wittchow suited up for the Chocolate and White for parts of three seasons from 2019-22 before attending Kraken training camp and signing a one-year AHL contract with the Firebirds in late September. The University of Wisconsin alumnus put up 18 points (7g, 11a) in 89 career regular season games for Hershey. Wittchow also previously played for the first-year Springfield Thunderbirds during the 2016-17 season.

NELLY VS. DISCO DAN, PART 2:

Hershey's head coach Todd Nelson won the Calder Cup as an assistant coach with the 2008 Chicago Wolves, who defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins four games to two. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's assistant coach that season was Dan Bylsma, now at the helm of the Firebirds. The following season, Bylsma was named head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins midway through the campaign, and later that spring hoisted the Stanley Cup after guiding Pittsburgh to a seven-game series win over the Detroit Red Wings. Nelson, meanwhile, later captured an additional Calder Cup in 2017 as the bench boss for Grand Rapids, and helped the Dallas Stars reach the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.

SHEP LOCKED IN:

The Bears have shown during the playoffs that they will go as far as goaltender Hunter Shepard will take them. Shepard boasts a 1.85 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage, and has been the netminder of record in every one of Hershey's 10 playoff victories. Shepard has allowed more than two goals in only two of his 13 playoff appearances. Shepard's two shutouts against Rochester in the Eastern Conference Finals were the most by a Bears goaltender in a single playoff series since Michal Neuvirth posted back-to-back 3-0 wins against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Games 6 and 7 of the 2009 East Division Finals. This will be Shepard's second appearance in a championship playoff round since 2021, after carrying the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays to that spring's Kelly Cup Finals.

HAVE A DAY:

Bears defender Logan Day is coming off a scorching-hot performance in the Eastern Conference Finals for Hershey, leading the club with six points (2g, 4a) in six games against Rochester. His nine points (3g, 6a) in nine games for the month of May also tied for the league lead among blueliners.

MEANWHILE, IN THE BATTLE FOR THAT "OTHER" CUP...:

The Bears also have representation in the Stanley Cup Final this season, as Chandler Stephenson is suiting up for the Vegas Golden Knights, while former Bears athletic trainer Brian Riedel is in his first year on the medical staff of the Florida Panthers. The Golden Knights lead the best-of-seven series two games to none after a 7-2 victory over Florida on Monday night; Stephenson picked up two assists.

BEARS BITES:

Aliaksei Protas leads Hershey in playoff scoring with 12 points (5g, 7a) in 13 games, while the Firebirds are paced by Kole Lind's 23 points (7g, 16a) in 19 games...Coachella Valley netminder Joey Daccord leads all playoff goaltenders in wins (12), losses (7), minutes played (1,190:27), and saves (569)...Firebirds defenseman Ryker Evans leads all rookies and all blueliners in scoring with 16 points (3g, 13a) in 19 games...Hershey is 6-1 when scoring first, while Coachella Valley is 9-2 when lighting the lamp first...Coachella Valley leads the playoffs with three shorthanded goals, but has also given up two...The Bears lead the postseason with 1.92 goals against per game, while the Firebirds rank fifth at 2.53...Hershey is 6-0 when leading after two periods, while Coachella is 9-0; the Bears are 2-3 when trailing after two periods, while the Firebirds are 1-5.

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