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AHL Hershey Bears

Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 Preview: Bears vs. Monsters, 7 p.m.

June 12, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears take the ice tonight against the Cleveland Monsters in a winner-take-all Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Hershey began the series with a 3-0 record before dropping the previous three contests to Cleveland. The winner of tonight's game will claim the Richard F. Canning Trophy as Eastern Conference champions and earn a berth in the 2024 Calder Cup Finals, where they would face the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Hershey Bears (9-4) vs. Cleveland Monsters (9-4)

June 12, 2024 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center | Series tied, 3-3

Referees: Cody Beach (45), Justin Kea (44)

Linespersons: Ryan Jackson (84), Joseph Mahon (89)

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Broadcast Information

Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, and FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski on the call

TELEVISION: Antenna TV (WPMT FOX 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, and Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88); Monumental Sports Network (Washington, D.C. market), NHL Network

RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, Capitals Radio, In-Arena on 88.9 FM

WATCH LIVE: AHLTV

LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7

Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m., Television coverage starts at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:

Cleveland drew first blood in Game 6 with a power-play goal from Owen Sillinger at 17:14 of the first period, and Henrik Rybinski drew Hershey level at 10:30 of the second period. In the final minute of regulation, Joe Snively put Hershey up 2-1 at 19:10, but the Monsters answered 17 seconds later when Brendan Gaunce threw the puck on net and it caromed behind Hunter Shepard. Jake Christiansen won the game for the Monsters at 17:31 of overtime when his shot from the left point beat Shepard for a 3-2 final.

GAME 7 GLORY OR HEARTBREAK:

Hershey will play in a Game 7 for the 20th time in franchise history tonight. The Bears have an all-time record of 10-9 in Game 7s and are 6-1 in Game 7s since the 1997 playoffs. Hershey's last Game 7 victory came in a 3-2 road overtime win against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the 2023 Calder Cup Finals, while its last home Game 7 was a 4-2 loss to the Providence Bruins on May 17, 2017 in the Atlantic Division Finals. Hershey's last Game 7 in the Conference Finals round occurred on May 30, 2006, when Eric Fehr scored in overtime to lift the Bears to a 5-4 win over the Portland Pirates at GIANT Center.

BACKS AGAINST THE WALL:

Hershey enters tonight's game with a lifetime playoff win-loss record of 61-58 when facing elimination, and a record of 79-70 when in position to clinch a series victory. The Bears will look to advance to the Calder Cup Finals with a win, while simultaneously avoiding the reverse sweep; in the history of the Calder Cup Playoffs, only four teams other than Cleveland have previously rallied from a 3-0 deficit in a series to force a Game 7:

1960 AHL Semifinals - Rochester vs. Cleveland (Rochester won Game 7) 1989 Southern Division Finals - Adirondack vs. Hershey (Adirondack won Game 7) 2011 Western Conference Finals - Hamilton vs. Houston (Houston won Game 7) 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals - W-B/Scranton vs. Providence (W-B/Scranton won Game 7)

HEAD-TO-HEAD BREAKDOWN:

So far in this series the Bears and Monsters are tied in aggregate goals at 19 apiece, while Hershey has outshot the Monsters 195-178. Hershey's power play is operating at a 7-for-27 (25.9%) clip against Cleveland, and the Hershey penalty kill has gone 17-for-22 (77.3%) with the Monsters on the man advantage. Hendrix Lapierre (1g, 5a) leads Hershey in scoring for the series, while Josh Dunne (4g, 3a) is pacing the Cleveland attack. In terms of game time in the lead through the series, Hershey has led a cumulative 103:09, while Cleveland has only held the lead for 93:22.

BEARS BITES:

Hershey is 5-0 at home in the playoffs when scoring a power-play goal...Hendrix Lapierre leads the league with seven power-play points and six power-play assists...Chase Priskie leads all defenders with 12 points (2g, 10a)... Both Lapierre (11) and Priskie (7) enter tonight's game riding seven-game point streaks on home ice...Ivan Miroshnichenko is tied for fifth in rookie scoring with 10 points (6g, 4a)... Hershey is tied with Coachella Valley with a league-leading seven wins when scoring first...Cleveland goaltending coach Brad Thiessen was a member of the 2013 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins roster that completed a reverse sweep against the Providence Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinal...Hunter Shepard's 23 career playoff victories are tied with Bob Perreault for fifth in franchise history, and his next win will move him into a tie for fourth place with Gordon "Red" Henry.

ON THIS DATE:

June 12, 2009 - The Bears scored three times in the first period en route to a 4-1 win over the Manitoba Moose in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, becoming the first team in the history of the American Hockey League to win the Calder Cup 10 times. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth was named the recipient of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP, winning all 16 games for Hershey that spring to tie the league record for most wins by a goaltender in a playoff year.

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