The Hershey Bears need to secure a win in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Monsters on Wednesday night to avoid joining an exclusive, unfortunate club of AHL playoff teams. Hershey went up 3-0 in the series against Cleveland with a repeat appearance in the Calder Cup Final seemingly assured before dropping three games in a row.
Only five teams in AHL history, including the Monsters, have come back from a 3-0 deficit to reach Game 7, and three of those teams completed the full reverse elimination. The last team to accomplish the feat was the 2013 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the second round against the Providence Bruins. It has never occurred in the Eastern Conference Finals.
- 1960 AHL Semifinals – Rochester vs Cleveland (Rochester won Game 7)
- 1989 Southern Division Finals – Adirondack vs Hershey (Adirondack won Game 7)
- 2011 Western Conference Finals – Hamilton vs Houston (Houston won Game 7)
- 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs Providence (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won Game 7)
This year’s Bears are seeking to not join those teams of the past after finishing the regular season with 23 more points than the Monsters.
Here’s how Hershey ended up in this must-win situation.
Eastern Conference Finals results
Game 1 – Thu., May 30 – HERSHEY 5, Cleveland 4 (OT)
Game 2 – Sat., June 1 – HERSHEY 3, Cleveland 2 (OT)
Game 3 – Tue., June 4 – Hershey 6, CLEVELAND 2
Game 4 – Thu., June 6 – CLEVELAND 3, Hershey 2
Game 5 – Sat., June 8 – CLEVELAND 5, Hershey 1
Game 6 – Mon., June 10 – Cleveland 3, HERSHEY 2 (OT)
Game 7 – Wed., June 12 – Cleveland at Hershey, 7:00
Game 1: Bears take 1-0 series lead
The Bears went up early on home ice in the series’s opening game, getting a goal from Ethen Frank 4:24 into regulation. Hershey would carry that lead into the first intermission before two goals from the Monsters came with 15:08 remaining in the second, flipping the game on its head.
Aaron Ness responded by scoring the first of three unanswered Bears goals to give Hershey a 4-2 lead that they would hold onto until Cleveland was forced to pull netminder Jet Greaves for an extra attacker. Trey Fix-Wolansky made the game 4-3 with 1:23 left on the clock and David Jiricek shocked Giant Center, tying the game at the 19:40 mark of the third period.
Mike Vecchione, the overtime hero from last season’s Calder Cup Final, made a strong defensive play 7:58 through the extra frame and finished off an odd-man rush to secure the Game 1 victory.
Game 2: Bears take 2-0 series lead
The series’s second game saw the Monsters get their captain, Brendan Gaunce, back in the lineup. Hershey went with the same lineup from Game 1 and the two teams battled to a 0-0 draw after 20 minutes. Garrett Roe and Josh Dunne scored within five minutes of each other near the end of the second period, pushing the game to another intermission with the score level.
After a tight-checking first 10 minutes of the third period, Ethen Frank broke through for his fifth goal in five games to give the Bears another late-game lead with 8:39 remaining in regulation. The Monsters pulled Greaves again in the final minutes and found another clutch, game-tying goal from Jiricek with 1:33 left on the clock.
Pierrick Dubé, who had been somewhat snakebitten in the postseason after finishing second on the team in goals (28) during the regular season, broke free for a rush down the left wing and gave the Bears two straight overtime victories.
Game 3: Bears take 3-0 series lead
The Bears lost defenseman Lucas Johansen to injury in Game 2 and replaced him for Game 3 with a returning Logan Day who was injured early in the playoffs. Head coach Todd Nelson left the rest of his lineup untouched in the first road game for his team in the series.
Hershey scored the game’s first goal again and took a 2-0 lead through another Frank tally 5:45 into the second period. The Monsters came back and tied the game 2-2 in the second, following the lead of their fourth line and getting a power play tally from Fix-Wolansky with 7:43 remaining in the second.
The Bears didn’t let the game slip like they did in the previous two outings as they scored four unanswered goals to end the game and secure the first blowout of the series. The win didn’t come without consequences though as Ness and Dubé left the action early due to injury.
Game 4: Bears hold 3-1 series lead
Hershey lined up for Game 4 without Ness, Dubé, and Henrik Rybinski due to injuries picked up in Game 3. Hardy Häman Aktell returned from his injury and Matthew Phillips and Matt Strome filled in up front. Cleveland also got some reinforcements in the form of star defense prospect Denton Mateychuk who made his pro debut in the game.
Dunne got the Monsters on the board first for the first time in the series with a strike just 2:10 after puck drop. Frank then scored the last goal of his seven-game goal streak to ensure the Bears headed into the first intermission with the game tied.
Frank would end up leaving the game early as Hershey faced more injury issues. Roman Ahcan and Jake Gaudet gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead with 14:50 remaining in the third period that they would hold on to despite a goal from Roe and Ivan Miroshnichenko hitting the post while Hunter Shepard was on the bench for an extra skater.
Game 5: Bears hold 3-2 series lead
Rybinski returned for Game 5 but the Bears were still without Johansen, Ness, and Dubé. Häman Aktell was also a game-time decision which forced Vincent Iorio into top-pairing minutes next to Dylan McIlrath.
Hershey scored the first goal of the game yet again, a pinpoint wrister from Day that clanked off of the post and in at the 12:11 mark of the first period. Cleveland came out of the first intermission and took advantage of an off night for Shepard, scoring four goals within 14 minutes to give them a 4-1 lead.
Nelson pulled Shepard for Clay Stevenson to start the third period and Stevenson gave up an additional goal to Dunne. The Monsters easily closed out the rest of the game, winning 5-1.
Game 6: Series tied 3-3
Cleveland got top, offensive defenseman Jake Christiansen back from injury for Game 6. The Bears, playing at Giant Center for the first time in over a week, were still missing Johansen, Ness, and Dubé.
The Monsters got a first-period, power-play goal from Owen Sillinger after Hershey took two, too many men on the ice penalties. Rybinski evened the game in the second with a blast from the high slot which set the game up for a dramatic finish.
Joe Snively put away what felt like the sure series-clinching marker with just 50 seconds remaining in regulation. The never-say-die Monsters returned fire with another pulled goalie goal from Gaunce with just 32.9 seconds left on the clock to force another overtime on the road.
Christiansen found the back of the net behind Shepard with 2:29 remaining in the first overtime period. Hershey also lost Frank early in the game again due to injury.
Game 7
Ahead of the series-deciding Game 7, the Bears look like they’ll be getting a full face shield donning Dubé back in their lineup. Hershey did not have Frank, Ness, or Johansen on the ice for their morning skate.
Hershey will play in a Game 7 for the 20th time in franchise history. Per the Bears, they have a record of 10-9 in Game 7s and are 6-1 in Game 7s since the 1997 playoffs. Hershey’s last Game 7 in the Conference Finals round occurred on May 30, 2006, when Eric Fehr scored in overtime to eliminate the Portland Pirates.
Overall goals in the series are tied at 19 for each team while Hershey has outshot the Monsters 195-178. Hendrix Lapierre (1g, 5a) leads Hershey in scoring for the series, while Dunne (4g, 3a) is out front for Cleveland. Shepard is 9-4 in the playoffs with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
Puck drop for Game 7 is set for 7 pm inside Giant Center. The winner of the game will head to the 2024 Calder Cup Final to face the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
