HERSHEY, PA — Pierrick Dubé lost “five or six” teeth after taking an Ethen Frank shot to the mouth during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Dubé underwent oral surgery shortly after the injury where he received a bone graft. He missed the Hershey Bears’ next three games — all losses — and lost 12 pounds over the next week as he struggled to eat.
With the series tied, Dubé returned for Game 7 wearing a bubble face shield, his mouth agape due to all the swelling.
“I mean, being in the stands and seeing all my teammates losing three games in a row probably was the worst thing in my life,” Dubé said that night. “You can’t control anything and every player on this team is a big part of a team and I scored a couple of those this year and I wanted to make a difference so yeah, I think as soon as we lost Game 6, I went in the medical room [and said], ‘I’m playing. I’ll do — no matter whatever it takes to play, but I want to play.’ We’re playing hockey for these moments.”
Dubé scored in the Bears’ 3-2 overtime victory to help send the Bears back to the Calder Cup Finals for a second straight year. His toughness went viral in hockey cirlces.
“Coming back from that injury, it was pretty insane,” Bears forward Jimmy Huntington, who has been centering Dubé on the second line, said. “When we saw him on the table, it was just like, ‘Oh my God. How is that possible?’ He’s a warrior and he’s going to do everything it takes to win a Cup. We’re right there. We’re here. Why not winning it?”
Dubé scored his second goal in three games on Sunday, finishing a two-on-one break with Alex Limoges and slamming hard into the end boards.
After needing a minute to get up, Dubé slowly skated to the Bears’ bench where he did a muted ROAR celebration.
The goal stood up as the Bears’ game-winner in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals, evening the championship series 1-1 with the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
“I mean, it’s just proof that he’s a warrior out there,” Huntington said. “Today he’s got a game-winning goal and he’s not going to miss those chances a lot.”
