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Bears blown out by Firebirds 5-0 in Game One of Calder Cup Finals

By Chris Cerullo

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June 9, 2023 12:33 am

The Hershey Bears were taken behind the woodshed in Game One of the Calder Cup Finals as Coachella Valley shut them out 5-0, Thursday. Hershey will need to hit the reset button quick for Game Two on Saturday.

The Bears could not solve Firebirds netminder Joey Daccord and had multiple defensive-zone breakdowns that led to grade-A chances going the other way. The Firebirds finished their opportunities while Hershey could not bury theirs.

Hershey’s first shot on goal was a breakaway attempt for Joe Snively, but he was stopped by Daccord. That seemed to set the tenor for the night.

Minutes later, rookie forward Tye Kartye got Coachella Valley on the board 9:02 into the first period after beating Hunter Shepard from the top of the left circle on the power play.

Kartye is coming off an NHL playoff run that saw him record five points (3g, 2a) in 10 games for the Seattle Kraken.

The second period saw more of the same for Hershey as they struggled to generate consistent offensive pressure in the Coachella Valley zone. Ville Petman doubled the Firebirds lead with a transition tally from the high slot 6:54 into the period.

Coachella then poured it on in the third. Andrew Poturalski jumped around Aaron Ness at the left circle to make it 3-0, 1:59 into the of the stanza.

The game officially became a blowout midway through the period as Coachella Valley scored twice in 38 seconds. Jesper Froden scored on a one-timer and Alexander True added a tally in front of the net to make it 5-0.

Daccord stopped all 25 of the Bears’ shots to earn the shutout victory.

Notes: The Firebirds outshot the Bears 27-25. Henrik Borgstrom and Connor McMichael led Hershey with three shots apiece. Hershey was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Coachella Valley went 1-for-2. Coachella Valley fans did the wave late in the third period – this may come back to haunt them. Hershey was without Ethen Frank as he was healthy-scratched for the fourth time in the postseason. Mike Sgarbossa and Vincent Iorio also missed the game due to injury. Tonight’s game at Acrisure Arena was a sellout. Here’s how Coachella Valley celebrated their three stars of the night.

Headline photo: Kyle Mace/Hershey Bears

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