The Hershey Bears dropped the first game of this year’s Calder Cup Finals, falling on home ice 4-3 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Coachella Valley has only lost once so far in the playoffs.
Joe Snively, Hardy Häman Aktell, and Hendrix Lapierre found the back of the net for the Bears but Hershey was burned by a shorthanded goal against and a soft goal allowed by Hunter Shepard. Hershey also only recorded four shots in the second period.
Snively, the Bears’ leading scorer in the championship series against Coachella Valley last year, got Hershey on the board just 1:15 into Game 1. The Bears broke into the Firebirds’ zone on a 4-on-2, odd-man rush and Snively was the beneficiary of a great bounce off of a defenseman in front.
After starting the playoffs without a goal for nine straight games, Snively has three goals in his last six outings.
Hershey would end up with the first power play in the game but the man advantage went sideways as John Hayden pounced on a puck that hopped over Snively’s stick. Hayden came down the ice on a breakaway and finished stick side on Shepard.
Coachella Valley took the lead with 5:37 left in the first period through rookie Ryan Winterton. Winterton received a great pass from Logan Morrison on a rush chance and found the top shelf over Shepard’s glove.
Winterton struck again to extend the lead at the 9:49 mark of the second period with a slick backhand. The 20-year-old forward had just one goal in the playoffs coming into Friday night.
The Bears punched back 3:02 after Winterton scored his second. Häman Aktell chipped a puck by goaltender Chris Driedger after Jimmy Huntington’s pass clicked off of a defenseman’s skate in front of the net.
Häman Aktell grabbed his first marker since he scored in Game 4 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the Atlantic Division Semifinals.
After a long shift in Hershey’s zone that featured multiple failed clearances, Hayden found his second of the game. Hayden spun around and fired a weak shot that somehow found its way through Shepard.
With Shepard pulled and the Bears on a power play, Lapierre squeaked a one-time blast through Driedger and a few other bodies to cut the lead to one.
The Bears were without key defensemen Aaron Ness, Vincent Iorio, Lucas Johansen, and Jon McDonald. The deluge of defense injuries meant Russian-born defender Dmitry Osipov made his Bears playoff debut in the loss.
Coachella Valley won both Game 1 and Game 2 to kick off last year’s series. They outscored the Bears 9-0 in those two games but then lost three in a row at Giant Center.
Here are Hershey’s lines from the loss:
Projected lineup for Game 1! 📝
Catch the broadcast:
📺 @NHLNetwork, @fox43.2 (Antenna TV), @MonSportsNet (DC region)
🖥️ https://t.co/HaxQBmLCRZ
📻 @FroggyValley, @foxsports1460am, @CapitalsRadio pic.twitter.com/c20Vfqe2OS— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) June 14, 2024
