Hershey Bears take team photo near Canning Trophy, but opt not to touch it

June 2, 2023 11:10 pm

The Hershey Bears blanked the Rochester Americans 1-0 in Game Six on Friday to become the AHL’s 2023 Eastern Conference Champions. Despite the franchise’s rich lineage of winning, this iteration of the Bears did not act like they had been there before.

Why? Well, Hershey was so excited about advancing to the Calder Cup Finals that they forgot they were receiving a shiny new trophy after the game. Once the team completed shaking hands with the Amerks, they immediately left the ice and went down to their locker room to celebrate, delaying the award ceremony by several minutes.

As Zack Fisch explained during the live telecast, the Bears had to be asked to return so they could be honored by the league.

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Hailey Moore, AHL vice president/hockey operations, presented Hershey Bears captain Dylan McIlrath with the Richard F. Canning Trophy, but the six-foot-five defenseman opted not to hold it up, instead having Moore keep it on the presentation table. McIlrath had alternate captains Mike Vecchione and Aaron Ness take a photo with him.

Photo: Jesse Liebman/Hershey Bears

After that concluded, McIlrath then waved over the rest of the team, including the scratches, coaching staff and management, to take a photo together. The Bears continued to keep a safe distance away from the trophy.

Photo: Jesse Liebman/Hershey Bears

Some superstitious hockey teams avoid hoisting Conference Champion awards as they believe it could bring them bad luck. The public avoidance also makes the statement that the league championship is the one they ultimately care about.

This marks the 24th time Hershey has advanced to the Calder Cup Finals — an AHL record. The team has won 10 of 13 playoff games including all six games on the road.

“I can’t say enough good things about this team,” Beck Malenstyn said postgame. “We stick with it. We battle as a group. A 1-0 victory on the road to send us to the Final I think says it all.”