AHL Hershey Bears

Two-Time Defending Champs Eliminated By Checkers

Published on April 25, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The HERSHEY BEARS Hockey Club finds itself on the outside of the Calder Cup playoffs and done for the season after falling to the Charlotte Checkers 2-1 Sunday night in Game 6 of the East Division Semi- Finals. The overtime loss ended HERSHEY ‚¬â„¢S season, and a historic run that included back-to-back Calder Cup championships and eight straight playoff series victories. It ‚¬â„¢s only the second time in six years the BEARS have failed to play beyond the month of April.

The BEARS will open training camp in September, with the 2011-12 season set to get underway in October. Season ticket plans for 2011-12 are on sale now by calling (717) 508-BEAR. The American Hockey League regular season schedule will be released in August. Follow the BEARS all summer at HERSHEYBEARS.com for the latest news and player signings. Free agency for the NHL and the AHL begins on July 1.

A terrific run comes to an end: After eight straight playoff series victories and two Calder Cup championships, the BEARS were eliminated Sunday by the Charlotte Checkers in six games in the East Division Semi-Finals. It is only the second time in six years that HERSHEY has not played into the month of June, having advanced to the Calder Cup Finals in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. The BEARS defeated the Milwaukee Admirals for the Cup in 2006, lost to the Hamilton Bulldogs in the 2007 Finals, and defeated Manitoba and Texas in the final round in the last two seasons. Even with the loss to Charlotte Sunday, the BEARS are now 15-3 in Calder Cup playoff series since joining with the Washington Capitals in 2005.

Aucoin leads the postseason: Center Keith Aucoin finished the 2011 Calder Cup playoffs with eight points in six games played, tops on the club. Mathieu Perreault led the team in the series against Charlotte with three goals, all coming on the road at Time Warner Cable Arena in North Carolina. Perreault also had the only multi- goal game by a BEARS skater this postseason. Goaltender Braden Holtby won two games and lost four, with a goals against average for the series at 3.01.

Checkers and Pens next: For just the second time in six seasons, the BEARS will not participate in the East Division Finals. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the regular season champion in the East, will face Charlotte in a best-of-seven series that will determine who advances to the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals. Binghamton and Portland will square off in the 2011 Atlantic Division Finals starting Wednesday night.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 25, 2011


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