HERSHEY, PA — The Hershey Bears were presented the Richard F. Canning Trophy after defeating the Cleveland Monsters 3-2 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Bears exchanged handshakes with the Cleveland Monsters at center ice and then ambled over to the end of the ice where Garrett Roe scored the overtime winner to accept the award. The Bears opted not to touch the trophy, instead taking a team photo beside it.
This is the 25th time Hershey has advanced to the Calder Cup Finals — an AHL record. They will play the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the championship series after they eliminated the Milwaukee Admirals in five games in the Western Conference Finals.
And we’re not done yet pic.twitter.com/tZOnnyeIg4
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) June 13, 2024
The Bears, who already have 12 prior Calder Cup victories, will be looking for their thirteenth in the Finals.
Hershey earned a first-round bye after finishing with the second-best, regular-season record (53-14-5) in AHL history. They eliminated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the Atlantic Division Semifinals in four games, the Hartford Wolf Pack in the Atlantic Division Finals in three games, and the Monsters in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games.
The Bears will look to win back-to-back Calder Cups for the third time in franchise history and for the first time since they did so in 2009 and 2010.
