After becoming Eastern Conference champions on Wednesday, the Hershey Bears will have a quick turnaround for the start of the Calder Cup Finals. Puck drop for Game 1 is set for Friday night at Giant Center.
The Bears, who have been dealing with significant injuries throughout the postseason, will get one major star back as reported by Monumental Sports Network’s Tarik El-Bashir.
Ethen Frank, the Bears’ leading goal-scorer in the playoffs, appears likely to return for the start of Hershey’s rematch against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the championship series.
It’s a good news/bad news kinda day for Hershey on the injury front. Looks like Ethen Frank is back, per Coach Todd Nelson, but Aaron Ness remains day-to-day, while Vincent Iorio and Lucas Johansen are out.
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) June 14, 2024
Frank was injured in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals after taking a crunching hit from a Cleveland Monsters’ defender into the end boards. The right wing skated off the ice in pain favoring his left leg and did not suit up in the decisive Game 7, which the Bears pulled out in overtime via a Garrett Roe goal.
While Frank appears good to go, the Bears will be without defenseman Vincent Iorio who got injured late in Game 7 and did not return. Iorio could be seen walking into the trainer’s room after the victory with a brace around his forearm.
Iorio is “out” along with Lucas Johansen, who suffered what appeared to be a significant lower-body injury in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. As the Bears were presented the Canning Trophy as conference champions, Johansen wore a walking boot on his left foot.
Aaron Ness appears to be the only defenseman close to potentially returning as he’s classified as “day-to-day.” But, he was wearing a walking boot on his right foot while on the ice for the Bears’ postgame celebration.
Due to depth concerns, the Bears called up defenseman Colin Swoyer to their playoff roster. He played four games with Hershey in the regular season and posted three points — all assists.
We have added defenseman Colin Swoyer to our playoff roster. He skated in four games with Hershey earlier this season, logging 3 assists.
📰 https://t.co/4jRQSKgQXz pic.twitter.com/FIy8YXe7j3
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) June 13, 2024
