If the Hershey Bears are going to become only the second team in AHL history to three-peat, they’re going to do so in a different way than their previous two championship clubs.
Bears head coach Todd Nelson made several aggressive changes after the team lost two of its first three games in its opening round, best-of-5 playoff series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Nelson went with an untraditional lineup with the team facing elimination, dressing 11 forwards and 7 defensemen. He healthy-scratched Mike Sgarbossa and gave a jersey to veteran defenseman Brad Hunt, who replaced the first-line center and longtime Bears forward on the power play. The most striking change came in net.
Ahead of Game 4, Nelson started Clay Stevenson, ending Hunter Shepard’s long consecutive playoff start streak at 43 games.
Most consecutive playoff starts in Hershey Bears history
Nick Damore – 50 (1940-1945)
Frédéric Cassivi – 45 (2006-2008)
Hunter Shepard – 43 (2023-2025)
Shepard was one of the most crucial and dependable players during Hershey’s championship runs in 2023 and 2024, winning 28 of 40 games with identical records both years: 14-6. Shepard was named the AHL Playoff MVP in 2023 and the league’s best regular season goaltender in 2023-24. Not only did Shepard start in all of the playoff games during that two-year span, but he played 95 percent of all the possible minutes. Backups Zach Fucale and Clay Stevenson played in relief only two times each and were on the ice for a combined 73:42, slightly more than a single game (60:00).
Despite Shepard’s success in net during crunch time, Nelson opted to give Stevenson the reins in Game 4 with the Bears’ season on the line. The 26-year-old netminder — signed with the Capitals through the 2026-27 season — stopped 32 of 36 Phantoms shots and set up a series-deciding Game 5 at Giant Center, where Nelson then returned Shepard to net.
“Well, we talked about it after the game on Friday and talked to Juha (Lehtola), our goalie coach,” Nelson said. “And Clay got the job done in Game 4. But over the past few years, Shep, you know, elimination game, Game 5, we knew that he feels comfortable in those situations.”
When asked when he found out he was starting and what his emotions were, Shepard appeared uncomfortable and sidestepped the question. “I don’t know if I’m even supposed to say that or not,” he responded. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to talk about that.”
Shepard made 19 saves in Game 5, limiting Lehigh Valley to only two goals in front of a capacity crowd at Giant Center. He also stopped a shorthanded breakaway in the third period.
“He played well for us,” Nelson said.
The 4-2 victory gave Hershey its AHL record-breaking, ninth-straight series win, which all came with Shepard in net during the clinching games.
“It’s just experience,” Shepard said of his playoff success. “Some people, big games kind of bring out your fight-or-flight, and you don’t think, you just play. Those are the games where you just gotta go out there and play and leave it on the ice. You’re not going to be on the right end of it all the time. You’re lucky to be on the right end of it. So it’s good to get the win.”
He added, “My game plan is always just to try to give up two goals or less. That will give your team a chance to win. You can’t try to get a shutout every game. You’re not going to give up two or less every game, but if you give up two or less, you’re going to be in every single game. Obviously, that’s not easy to do all the time, but in the two games that I played in the series that I gave up two or less, we won the game. In the two that I played and I didn’t, we lost, so that’s kind of been my game plan for most of my career. Usually, I’d say 80 percent of the time you do that, you’re going to win the game.”
While Shepard started in four of five during the Atlantic Division Semifinals, Nelson was unwilling to commit to the Coleraine, Minnesota native as the team’s workhorse in net moving forward. The Bears will play the Charlotte Checkers in the Atlantic Division Finals, where Games 1 and 2 are Friday and Saturday at Bojangles Coliseum. The weekend back-to-back presents a situation where both goaltenders could split starts again.
“I think we’re going to need both guys,” Nelson said. “You know, we’re playing Charlotte. And it seems like every time we go to Charlotte, Hunter Shepard gets called up, and Clay Stevenson has to handle the load. And Clay’s done well in that building. So we’ll take it game-by-game to see where we’re at. But I feel comfortable with both guys. Both guys have played well against Charlotte. And like I said, Clay’s played a lot of games in Charlotte and got some wins.”
Shepard and Stevenson both got a game each with the Washington Capitals this season and mostly split starts during the regular season. Shepard played 39 games with Hershey while Stevenson played in 33. Unlike Stevenson, Shepard is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“It’s a team game,” Shepard said. “We’re just trying to do our job in there to give the team the best chance to win. He did his job, it’s awesome.”
He added, “Whenever I’m told to play, I play. And when I don’t, I don’t.”
