HERSHEY, PA — The Hershey Bears’ attempt at becoming only the second AHL team to three-peat is officially over.
Wednesday, in front of a loud crowd at Giant Center, the Bears fell to the Charlotte Checkers 6-3 in Game 3 and were swept out of the Atlantic Division Finals in three games. Their AHL record playoff series winning streak, which spanned a period of three years (2023-2025), ends at 9.
The Bears got off to a strong start. Bogdan Trineyev lit the lamp with 58 seconds remaining in the first period, beating Checkers goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen with a huge shot from the right circle. The goal was his team-leading fifth of the postseason.
Giant Center erupted after Trineyev’s goal, and the Bears took that momentum into the second period.
On a rush down the ice, Garrett Roe left a drop pass for Mike Vecchione, who made no mistake on the opportunity, giving Hershey a 2-0 lead.
But the Bears collapsed after that, giving up three consecutive goals in the stanza.
Brett Chorske struck first for the Checkers after being left wide open in the left circle. Ivan Miroshnichenko, gassed after a long shift, was unable to mark Chorske, who fired the puck home past Bears goaltender Hunter Shepard.
Defenseman Michael Benning tied the game, skating the puck coast-to-coast and through a hole-filled Bears coverage.
John Leonard, playing in front of his brother Ryan Leonard, then followed that up with a steal and snipe, giving the Checkers their first lead of the game with 8:46 remaining in the second period.
The Checkers’ three goals came in 7:24.
The Bears tried to come back in the third, but Charlotte extended their lead early with tallies from Will Lockwood and Kyle Criscuolo. Lockwood’s tally deflected off Nick Leivermann’s stick up and over Shepard and into the goal.
Miroshnichenko scored to narrow the Checkers’ lead to 5-3, but that’s where Hershey’s comeback attempt ended.
Rasmus Asplund put the closing touches on the game, beating Chase Priskie to a loose puck for an empty-netter.
The Checkers recorded 38 shots in the victory, with 20 of them coming in the second period alone. Hershey managed just two shots in the second and were outshot in every game of the series.
With the loss, the pro career of 37-year-old Bears forward Garrett Roe comes to an end. Other Hershey veterans like Hunter Shepard, Riley Sutter, Luke Philp, Alex Limoges, Ethan Bear, and Chase Priskie are without contracts for next season.
Notes: Bogdan Trineyev finished as the team’s leading scorer in the playoffs with seven points (5g, 2a) in eight games. The Checkers move on to play in the Eastern Conference Finals against the winner of the Laval Rocket and Rochester Americans series.
