Aaron Ness was unable to play in Game 4 of the Calder Cup Finals due to injury, but he managed to help his team anyway.
Out since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Ness suited up and took warmups with the Bears for the first time since suffering his lower-body.
“It was a big deal,” Ethen Frank said after the team’s 3-2 victory to even the championship series 2-2. “Obviously he’s a big presence being one of our assistant captains.”
Hey now Nesser!!#HersheyBears pic.twitter.com/QCCmqfj8wp
— Chocolate Hockey (@ChocHockey) June 21, 2024
According to Bears’ head coach Todd Nelson, Ness read the starting lineup inside the locker room and it had the intended effect he desired.
“It gave the guys a boost,” Nelson said. “He’s a big part of our leadership group. Unfortunately he’s banged up right now but we wanted to have him in the room before the game.”
Ness, a veteran of 728 AHL games, is officially day-to-day and has been seen around the rink wearing a walking boot on his right foot. Ness is one of three regular Bears defensemen out due to injury, including Lucas Johansen and Vincent Iorio. The untimely injuries have forced the team to get creative with the lineup.
Nicky Leivermann, a regular for the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays, made his AHL playoff debut on Thursday after not playing in a hockey game for two and a half months. Skating with Dylan McIlrath on the first pairing, Leivermann played solid and earned the team’s Bears Head as player of the game.
“Just having him in the room before warmups and even on the ice with us was a great feeling,” Frank added. “I don’t know if anyone has video of it but he made a hell of a speech before the game. Everybody was pretty fired up. If anything, that game was for Nesser.”
