HERSHEY, PA — If the Hershey Bears want to repeat as champions, they will need to do something that no other opposing team in this year’s postseason has done: win a game at Acrisure Arena.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds are 6-0 at home during the 2024 Calder Cup Finals, outscoring teams 23-12. They have defeated the Calgary Wranglers, Ontario Reign, and Milwaukee Admirals twice each during their 2024 playoff games in Palm Desert, California.
“It’s a tough place to play and they play very well at home,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said after his team’s 5-2 victory at Giant Center, Sunday. “I don’t think they’ve lost a game at home yet in the playoffs, right? So we know what we’re getting ourselves into. But I do know that our team will be better because it couldn’t get any worse than it was tonight.”
The 11,000-capacity arena opened on December 14, 2022, during the Firebirds’ inaugural season in the AHL. They won 26 of their 36 home games during the regular season that year. Since Game 4 of the 2023 Pacific Division Semifinals, the Firebirds have won 13 of their last 14 home playoff games with their only loss coming in Game 7 of the 2023 Calder Cup Finals where Hershey’s Mike Vecchione scored the championship-winning goal in overtime.
“We’ve got to get on the forecheck,” Bears’ forward Jimmy Huntington, who spent last season in the Western Conference with Milwaukee, said. “They’re a really good team, give them credit. And it’s a different environment in their building, too. I played there last year and they’re a good team. We’ve just got to stay composed.”
The Firebirds flew home on Monday after spending the last two weeks on the road. Games 3, 4, and 5 of the Western Conference Finals were in Milwaukee. The team then immediately flew to Hershey to stay acclimated with an earlier time zone as they awaited the victor of the Bears/Monsters series in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“I’m going to need my GPS to get home,” Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma joked. “We’re ready to go back home and we get three in our barn and we’ve got to make hay.”
“We’ve got such a close group that it goes by fast and we have a lot of fun,” Firebirds forward Luke Henman added. “We’ve obviously been winning games, so it’s been great. But yeah, it’ll be nice to get home to our fans. I think they’re going to be ready to welcome us and they’re going to be loud and we’re excited.”
Last year, Coachella Valley outscored Hershey 16-5 in their four games at Acrisure Arena, overwhelming and outscoring the Bears 9-0 in Games 1 and 2 at home.
“I think the atmosphere and the fans have a lot to do with it,” Henman said of what makes Acrisure Arena special. “I think it’s a tough building to come into and play. And I also think our style of play and the way we wear teams down, the way we play fast, we play quick, we’re relentless, I think that is also hard to play against.”
But Hershey ultimately won the championship series after scoring three unanswered goals in the Firebirds’ barn during Game 7.
This year, Coachella Valley fans may be even louder and more passionate as they yearn for payback. The championship series will also end an era for the Firebirds as it marks Dan Bylsma’s final games as the team’s head coach. The Seattle Kraken promoted him to the NHL as their bench boss next season.
“We know Dan’s leaving, but we all want to win super bad,” Henman said. “We were here last year. We were one goal away. We’re all very, very motivated and excited for the challenge. We know it’s going to be a long series, but we’re excited to hopefully get over the hurdle this year.”
The 2024 Calder Cup Finals are tied 1-1 as the two teams split Games 1 and 2 in Hershey. Puck drop for Game 3 is at 10 pm Eastern Time. The next three games will be played at Acrisure Arena.
