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Hershey drops Game Five, will head to Rochester for another chance to clinch Calder Cup Finals appearance

By Chris Cerullo

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May 31, 2023 9:40 pm

The Hershey Bears and Rochester Americans will need at least six games to find the victor in this year’s Eastern Conference Finals. The Bears came into Wednesday night’s action with a 3-1 series lead and looking to clinch a spot in the Calder Cup Finals on home ice.

Hershey would get a deflection goal from Aliaksei Protas but could not put a second past Malcolm Subban in the Amerks net despite long stretches of offensive-zone pressure.

Game Six will come on Friday night in Rochester. Hershey will have another chance to win the Richard F. Canning Trophy (Eastern Conference Champions).

Hershey kicked the game off with multiple excellent shifts in a row in front of a raucous, full Giant Center. Subban was forced into several huge stops within the first five minutes of regulation and kept the Amerks in the contest. Subban’s efforts proved worthwhile as despite soaking up a lot of early pressure, Rochester opened the scoring via a Jiri Kulich shot that Hunter Shepard probably would want to stop if he got another chance.

Subban stayed heroic in the Amerks net in the second, coming up large time and time again as the Bears pressed for nearly the entire period to find an equalizer. Hershey’s leading scorer in the playoffs, Protas, had a couple of grade-A chances and Subban either challenged well or Protas just fired wide.

That spectacular goaltending paid off yet again as the Amerks found another tally against the run of play early in the third period. Mason Jobst was the beneficiary of a Bears turnover and he fed a wide-open Lukas Rousek for a one-time strike.

Rochester couldn’t keep Protas quiet for the whole game though, as the big Belorussian found Hershey’s first marker just 2:22 after the second Amerks tally. With the Bears on a power play, Joe Snively fed Logan Day at the point and Day let go a quick wrister that Protas guided past Subban.

The deflection goal was Protas’ fifth of the postseason which gives him a share of the team lead with Mason Morelli. Protas is also Hershey’s overall leading scorer with 12 points (5g, 7a) from 12 games.

The good times would not last as Michael Mersch sniped the Amerks back into a two-goal lead with 6:49 left in the third period. Rochester was on a power play after Protas was called for a very questionable hooking penalty that sure looked like more of a holding the stick penalty on an Amerks forward.

Rousek added a late empty netter to seal the deal for the Amerks.

Notes: Subban finished the night with 32 stops in the victory. Hendrix Lapierre led the Bears with four shots on goal. Hershey was again without Henrik Borgstrom (illness), Mike Sgarbossa (injury), and Vincent Iorio (injury).

Headline photo: Tori Hartman / Hershey Bears

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