2023 Calder Cup Finals

Hunter Shepard named MVP of Calder Cup Playoffs, receives Jack A. Butterfield Trophy

The Hershey Bears won their first Calder Cup championship in 13 years and a big reason why was because of their man between the pipes. Goaltender Hunter Shepard stopped 45 of 47 shots in the nerve-wracking, Game Seven overtime victory.

During the postgame festivities, Shepard was awarded the AHL’s Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the Calder Cup Playoffs’ MVP. He racked up a 14-6 overall postseason record with a .914 save percentage, 2.27 goals-against average, and three shutouts.

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By Chris Cerullo 3 months ago

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Mike Vecchione scores overtime winner in Game 7 to deliver Calder Cup championship to Hershey Bears

Mike Vecchione invented the Hershey Bears’ signature ROAR celebration. In the postseason, the alternate captain delivered a championship to the team.

Vecchione scored the Calder Cup Finals series-winner in Hershey’s 3-2 overtime Game Seven victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Vecchione’s tally came with 3:41 remaining in the first overtime period.

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By Chris Cerullo 3 months ago

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The Hershey Bears are 2023 Calder Cup champions!

The Hershey Bears did it!!!

The Capitals’ AHL affiliate are Calder Cup champions for the first time in 13 years after defeating the Coachella Valley Firebirds 3-2 in overtime of Game Seven. Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre scored goals in regulation. Mike Vecchione scored the dramatic series-ender 16:19 into the first overtime. Hunter Shepard made 45 saves for his 14th and final victory of the postseason. Shepard was named postseason MVP and received the Jack Butterfield Trophy at the game’s conclusion.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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Connor McMichael scores goal in consecutive games for Hershey Bears in Calder Cup Finals

Washington Capitals 2019 first-round pick, Connor McMichael, has scored some big goals for the Hershey Bears during the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs. But he saved his best for last.

After watching the Bears fall behind 2-0 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in Game Seven, McMichael scored on a second period power play jolting his team back to life.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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Special group of Bears players looking to bring Calder Cup back to Hershey in final game together: ‘We all have to leave it on the line’

The Hershey Bears’ first possible elimination game of the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs will be their last. After defeating the Charlotte Checkers in four games, the Hartford Wolf Pack in three, and the Rochester Americans in six, the Bears will attempt to win the franchise’s league-leading twelfth championship in the AHL’s final game of the 2022-23 season.

Not only does the Game Seven matchup against the Coachella Valley Firebirds mark the definitive end of the series, the game will likely prove to be the end of an era for one of the deepest teams in the AHL. Many of the Bears’ biggest contributors in the postseason will be free agents in July including defensemen Dylan McIlrath, Logan Day, and Gabriel Carlsson; goaltenders Hunter Shepard and Zach Fucale; and key forwards Sam Anas, Garrett Pilon, Mason Morelli, and Riley Sutter. The Capitals, who are looking to go younger next season, could also pluck several stars from the current team including Beck Malenstyn, Connor McMichael, Joe Snively, and Ethen Frank for the NHL roster.

It’s all or nothing tonight for this special group. But if the Bears are feeling that stress, they weren’t showing it hours before puck drop.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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Hershey Bears to host watch party at Giant Center for Game Seven of Calder Cup Finals

The Hershey Bears are opening up Giant Center for one of their biggest games in recent memory.

Wednesday night, the Bears will be hosting a watch party for Game Seven of the Calder Cup Finals at their home arena as Hershey tries to win its twelfth championship in Coachella Valley. Admission to the event is free and doors open at 9 pm.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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AHL airing Game Seven of Calder Cup Finals game between Hershey and Coachella Valley free online

The final hockey game of the 2022-23 season will be played on Wednesday night, and now you have no excuse to miss it.

The American Hockey League announced that Game Seven of Calder Cup Finals between the Hershey Bears and Coachella Valley Firebirds will be free to watch online via AHL TV. The game will be played in Coachella Valley and begins at 10 pm Eastern Standard Time

The victor will raise the Calder Cup at the end of the night. If the Bears win, the championship will be their 12th in franchise history — an AHL record — while a potential title will be the first for Coachella Valley.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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Hershey Bears blown out in Game Six, fall to Coachella Valley 5-2

The Hershey Bears will face a Game Seven in the Calder Cup Finals after once again having no answers on the road in Southern California against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

The Firebirds defeated the Bears 5-2 in Game Six to tie the series three games apiece. The win was powered by a huge back half of the first period in which Coachella Valley scored three unanswered goals on just nine shots after Connor McMichael had given Hershey an early lead.

Hershey will need to be the first team in the series to win a road game on Wednesday if they want to bring home the franchise’s 12th Calder Cup. Otherwise, it’s season over and no championship silverware.

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By Chris Cerullo 3 months ago

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Behind the scenes of Garrett Pilon’s Game Five OTGWG: Day’s keep, Morelli’s screen, and Hershey’s epic celebration

HERSHEY, PA — Capitals draft pick Garrett Pilon scored one of the biggest goals in Hershey Bears’ history at Giant Center on Saturday, putting the Chocolate and White on the precipice of their twelfth Calder Cup championship.

After both the Bears and Coachella Valley Firebirds could not score a goal in regulation of Game Five, Pilon let a shot fly from just outside the circles in overtime that beat goaltender Joey Daccord, sending Bears’ players and a sold-out Giant Center into jubilation. The goal was Pilon’s fourth of the postseason, marking tenth point in 16 playoff games.

The play, which gave the Bears a three games to two lead in the Calder Cup Finals, was a confluence of several heads up plays by unheralded members of the team. Meanwhile, the celebration afterward was a mess of excited feels that also, according to Dylan McIlrath, got a little physical.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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Garrett Pilon’s overtime snipe puts Hershey Bears just one win away from franchise’s 12th Calder Cup

The Hershey Bears needed three and a half periods to find their first goal of Saturday night’s Game Five in the Calder Cup Finals. They got that goal and it was the only goal in the game as Garrett Pilon sniped over Firebirds netminder Joey Daccord in overtime to give Hershey a 3-2 series lead.

Hunter Shepard pitched a shutout at the other end of the ice as the Bears took home just the fifth game in Calder Cup Finals history to go into overtime without a goal. Mason Morelli and Logan Day picked up the assists on Pilon’s game-winner.

The Bears, after winning all three games of the series on home ice, will now go back into California with two chances to win the franchise’s 12th Calder Cup.

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By Chris Cerullo 3 months ago

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