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The Hershey Bears are 2023 Calder Cup champions!

By Ian Oland

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June 22, 2023 1:18 am

The Hershey Bears did it!!!

The Capitals’ AHL affiliate are Calder Cup champions for the first time in 13 years after defeating the Coachella Valley Firebirds 3-2 in overtime of Game Seven. Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre scored goals in regulation. Mike Vecchione scored the dramatic series-ender 16:19 into the first overtime. Hunter Shepard made 45 saves for his 14th and final victory of the postseason. Shepard was named postseason MVP and received the Jack Butterfield Trophy at the game’s conclusion.

Hershey captain Dylan McIlrath was presented the Calder Cup by AHL President and CEO Scott Howson at Acrisure Arena in Coachella Valley. This is the twelfth time in franchise history the Bears have won the Calder Cup — an AHL record.

The only other time the Calder Cup Final was decided in overtime was in 1953 when Cleveland beat Pittsburgh. This is the longest Game Seven in AHL Calder Cup Finals history.

The Bears won the Calder Cup after going 44-19-5-4 in the regular season — good for 97 points — and finishing as the league’s fourth best team. Hershey went 14-6 in the postseason, defeating the Charlotte Checkers in four games in the Atlantic Division Semifinals; sweeping the Hartford Wolf Pack in three games in the Atlantic Division Final; and eliminating the Rochester Americans in six games during the Eastern Conference Finals.

During the Calder Cup Finals, the Hershey Bears were shut out and out-scored 9-0 in their first two games by Firebirds’ goaltender Joey Daccord, but won the next three games by one goal at home. Coachella Valley defeated Hershey in Game Six 5-2, but the Bears were able to pull it out in Game Seven.

The comeback marks only the fourth time a team that has fallen behind two games to none in the opening two matchups of the Calder Cup Finals and won. The last club to do it before the 2023 Bears was the 2010 Bears who won four straight games after falling behind 2-0 against the Texas Stars.

The Calder Cup championship marks the second for Todd Nelson as head coach after previously winning the championship with Grand Rapids in 2017. Nelson is now the 12th head coach in league history to win multiple Calder Cups, joining former Bears bench bosses Frank Mathers (3) and John Paddock (3). Nelson joins Paddock and Fred “Bun” Cook as the third head coach in league history to win Cups with different teams.

The Hershey Bears were led in goals by Connor McMichael (6) and in points by Joe Snively (15). They got contributions up and down the lineup to become champions.

“You look at any championship team, you have depth and everyone’s producing, and you’re seeing that from this team,” Mike Vecchione said earlier in the postseason. “Everyone’s just going out there, playing for each other and everyone’s getting rewarded. It’s kind of been like that throughout the season, too, where if one line’s not going another line’s going to pick us up. Everyone just sticks together in that locker room; it’s been such a great brotherhood in there and that’s why we’re having so much fun.”

Headline photo: @TheAHL

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