The Hershey Bears and Coachella Valley Firebirds are set to square off in the Calder Cup Finals for the second consecutive season. The best-of-seven, championship series gets underway on Friday night at Giant Center between the two franchises at the opposite ends of the history spectrum.
Hershey is seeking to win the club’s 13th Calder Cup, the most in AHL history, while Coachella Valley is looking to capture its first-ever championship in just its second-ever season. The Bears are making their 25th, all-time appearance in the Cup Finals. They are 12-12 in their previous 24 appearances.
Hershey defeated the Firebirds in seven games via Mike Vecchione’s Cup-winning, overtime goal last year to win their 12th Cup.
Here’s the full playoff bracket story of how this reunion came to be.
Hershey Bears
- First-round bye due to regular season results (53-14-5 record)
- 3-1 series win in Atlantic Division Semifinals over Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- 3-0 series win in Atlantic Division Finals over Hartford Wolf Pack
- 4-3 series win in Eastern Conference Finals over Cleveland Monsters
Coachella Valley Firebirds
- First-round bye due to regular season results (46-15-11 record)
- 3-1 series win in Pacific Division Semifinals over Calgary Wranglers
- 3-0 series win in Pacific Division Finals over Ontario Reign
- 4-1 series win in Western Conference Finals over Milwaukee Admirals
Team Leaders – Bears
Goals: Ethen Frank (9)
Assists: Hendrix Lapierre (11)
Points: Hendrix Lapierre (15)
Power-Play Goals: Ethen Frank (4)
Shorthanded Goals: Jimmy Huntington (1)
Plus/Minus: Chase Priskie (+8)
Wins: Hunter Shepard (10)
GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.16)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.920)
Team Leaders – Firebirds
Goals: John Hayden (7)
Assists: Cameron Hughes (9)
Points: Devin Shore (11)
Power-Play Goals: John Hayden/Devin Shore (2)
Shorthanded Goals: John Hayden/Marian Studenic (1)
Plus/Minus: John Hayden (+10)
Wins: Chris Driedger (10)
GAA: Chris Driedger (2.31)
SV%: Chris Driedger (.927)
Repeat Matchup
Hershey and Coachella Valley will play each other in the Calder Cup Finals for the second straight year, joining the Maine Mariners and New Haven Nighthawks (1978-79), Rochester Americans and Maine Mariners (1983-84), and Springfield Indians and Rochester Americans (1990-91) as the only AHL clubs to achieve that feat.
The Mariners won both Cup matchups against the Nighthawks, the Americans and Mariners split their two series, and the Indians took both championships against the Americans. Hershey has won back-to-back championships twice, with the first instance occurring in 1957 and 1958. The latest repeat came in 2009 and 2010.
They would become the 10th team in the history of the AHL to repeat as Calder Cup champions, joining the Buffalo Bisons (1943-44), Cleveland Barons (1953-54), Hershey Bears (1958-59; 2009-10), Springfield Indians (1960-61-62; 1990-91), Rochester Americans (1965-66), Nova Scotia Voyageurs (1976-77), and Maine Mariners (1978-79).
Todd Nelson vs Dan Bylsma
The two teams’s bench bosses both hold prior NHL coaching experience and have a long history with the Calder Cup Finals.
This year’s series will represent the fourth time that Nelson and Bylsma will face each other in their hockey careers for the Calder Cup. The two first faced each other as players in the 1994 Calder Cup Finals, when Nelson’s Portland Pirates claimed the championship over Bylsma’s Moncton Hawks. In 2008, the two were assistant coaches for their respective clubs, as Nelson’s Chicago Wolves triumphed over Bylsma’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in six games. In 2023, as head coaches, Nelson’s Bears defeated Bylsma’s Firebirds in Game 7 via sudden-death overtime.
Nelson owns an AHL postseason coaching record of 66-41 and is 24-10 in his tenure with the Bears. His 66 playoff victories rank fourth in league history while his 24 playoff wins with Hershey are tied for fourth in team history. Nelson has two Calder Cup championships as a head coach, winning with Grand Rapids in 2017 and Hershey in 2023.
Bylsma is in his second and final season at the helm of the Firebirds as he’s set to become the next head coach of the Seattle Kraken next year. Bylsma won the Stanley Cup in 2009 as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Injury Issues
The injury story between the two teams is incomparable and majorly favors the Firebirds.
Hershey is expected to be without defensemen Aaron Ness, Lucas Johansen, and Vincent Iorio. Ness is considered day-to-day, Johansen is likely out for the rest of the postseason, and Iorio’s status is still unclear after he was dinged up late in Wednesday night’s Game 7.
The Bears have also seen top goal scorer Ethen Frank miss two games due to injury although he is expected to return for Game 1. Henrik Rybinski, Pierrick Dubé, Hardy Häman Aktell, Logan Day, and Riley Sutter have all missed at least one game due to injuries in the playoffs.
Coachella Valley has been very healthy the entire postseason, seeing 17 of their skaters play in all 12 of their playoff games. Shane Wright, one of the Kraken’s top prospects, is the only lineup regular to miss time, not playing since May 17. Per the AHL’s Tony Androckitis, Wright was a full participant at the Firebirds’ most recent practice and should be back for Game 1.
Puck drop for Game 1 is set for 7 pm inside Giant Center. Hershey will also host Game 2 but the series won’t be back in Chocolatetown unless Game 6 or 7 becomes necessary.
Note: Many of the stats and facts in this article were provided by the Hershey Bears through their weekly press release
