Coachella Valley, Hershey Set To Rematch In 2024 Calder Cup Finals

HERSHEY, Pa. - You couldn't have scripted the Calder Cup finals matchup any better than this.

After last year's Game 7 overtime deciding goal from Mike Vecchione won the Hershey Bears a championship in dramatic fashion out in Palm Springs, the Coachella Valley Firebirds went to work and set out for high expectations entering the 2023-2024 season.

"Story writers would tell you that, probably," Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma quipped when asked about this year's finals matchup being a rematch of last year. "Given the history last year, the finals, game seven and Hershey winning it feels like the story writers had us head right back here a year later on their own. So we get the rematch."

It's only fitting a year later that the two teams are back at the AHL's biggest stage competing for the title of 2024 Calder Cup champions.

"It's a fun rematch, kind of what everybody wanted. So, you know, sometimes things line up like that, and it's gonna be a fun series, it's gonna be a battle," Poturalski said. Nothing's gonna be easy. You know, we don't play each other all year, but I think we're pretty familiar with each other. So it's gonna be fun."

Hershey was the regular season's best team with a franchise-record .771 winning percentage and 111 points. Coachella Valley finished with the AHL's second best record during the 2023-24 regular season.

While last year's magical run in their inaugural season as a franchise in the AHL came to an heartbreaking end, what better way for Coachella Valley to avenge last year's loss then with a rematch this June.

"We didn't expect anything less out of this team, and still have a sour taste in our mouth from last year," Firebirds alternate captain Andrew Poturalski said of getting another chance to face Hershey in the Finals. "It's kind of feels like we have a little bit of unfinished business with his team. And we've had a pretty good season so far, but you know nothing really matters unless you bring home the trophy. So we're all business and ready to go."

For Coachella Valley, the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs have been a completely different story than a year ago between avoiding the first round Best of 3 Series and being able to close out their opponents this spring unlike their long road to the 2023 Calder Cup finals.

Along the way, the Firebirds have had multiple lengthy layoffs during the playoffs while awaiting their opponent for the following round.

"This year we've had a 10-day break, an 11-day break and a nine-day break. We've had these huge breaks, it's been a little different feel for our group in terms of we have to start up against Calgary in Game 1. It was a little different. The second series was a little bit of a restart as well," Bylsma said. "So we've kind of had a bit of a different story and it's a different story for us heading into the finals.

Once again, after defeating the Milwaukee Admirals in five games to become Western Conference champions for the second consecutive season, the Firebirds arrived in Hershey on Sunday and ultimately had five days of waiting to get the finals underway.

Even with the added rest, Byslma and the Firebirds are expecting another lengthy battle in the Calder Cup Finals this year.

"Our approach is this one's going to go seven games, and we get 60 of the 420 [minutes] Friday night," Byslma said.

For the Hershey Bears, their path to the 2024 Calder Cup finals was also a bit of a light schedule with just eight games in 40 days from the end of the regular season through the Atlantic division Finals series win over the Hartford wolf pack.

The Bears real test came in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland monsters, in what ended up being an instant Classic series that went the distance all the way to a game 7 overtime.

After going up 3-0 in the series, the Bears were unable to put away an incredibly resilient monsters team that forced four overtime games in the series all on the road in a hostile Giant Center environment that had seen the Bears win every home game of the 2024 postseason leading into Monday's game 6.

Ultimately the Bears came through when it was needed most, and their highly talked about organizational depth continued to propel the team forward despite Hershey racking up several injuries throughout the series.

"It was a great series. First off, I want to mention how much respect we have for the Cleveland Monsters coaching staff and their players," Bears head coach Todd Nelson said. "They never quit. Being up 3-0 in the series and all of a sudden be fighting for your life in Game 7 at home, they deserve a lot of respect around the league for sure."

One of those injured players who were fortunate enough to return to game action did so the hard way, as Pierrick Dube took a puck to the face coming from a shot off the stick of Ethen Frank in Game 3 in Cleveland - missing Games 4, 5 and 6 after having oral surgery and losing six teeth in the process. And that's not to mention the artifical bone graft that needed to be inserted into Dube's jaw.

But after Hershey's Game 6 loss, Dube told the coaches he was playing in Wednesday night's Game 7 no matter what it took.

"I think as soon as we lost game six, I went in the coaches room. I'm playing, like, I'll do whatever it takes to play, but I want to play," Dube recalled of his conversation with the coaching staff. "So that's pretty much how it happens. But, you know, we're playing hockey for these moments. Like, respect to Cleveland. They were a really, really good team. And they gave us a lot of diversity, so we're even more prepared for the finals now."

Without the likes of defenseman Lucas Johansen, Vincent Iorio and Aaron Ness to begin Friday night's Game 1, Hershey's depth we'll face their ultimate test particularly on the blue line.

"It's certainly fitting. Like, they were here three days ago waiting for us. It'll be an interesting matchup, obviously everyone knows the history of us," Nelson said of the upcoming Calder Cup Finals rematch against Coachella Valley. "It's going to be just like last year, you're not going to be able to take a shift off."