GAME STORY 2023 Calder Cup Finals Game 2: Hershey - 0 at Coachella Valley - 4

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The Hershey Bears came out strong to start Game 2, out-shooting Coachella Valley 15-5 in the opening 20 minutes of play.

But as the game wore on, the Bears began to beat themselves - surrendering a total of NINE power plays to the Firebirds, including five in the middle frame, and allowing the home team to manufacture offense to the tune of four unanswered goals on their way to a 4-0 win in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals to take a 2-0 series lead before the best-of-seven series shifts to Hershey.

Jesper Froden, Austin Poganski, Ryker Evans and Cameron Hughes all tallied goals in the win with Evans and Hughes recording a goal and assist each.

Joey Daccord stopped 33 shots for his second straight shutout - the first time since the 1939 Calder Cup Finals that a goalie has opened the Calder Cup Finals with back-to-back shutouts.

Hunter Shepard stopped 19 of the 23 shots he faced in the loss, not to mention stopping a Carsen Twarynski penalty shot early in the 2nd period to keep the game scoreless at the time.

The Bears have now gone 147 minutes and 20 seconds without a goal since their 2nd period goal in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on June 2.

The two teams will head to the East Coast and resume the series at Giant Center with Game 3 on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET (4 pm PT).

...

Hershey came out with a much-improved showing in the opening 20 minutes of Game 2, though they weren't rewarded for their efforts despite out-shooting Coachella Valley 15-5 in the first frame.

Instead, it was mainly a special teams affair in the first period with the two teams trading a combined five power plays - three for Coachella Valley and two for Hershey.

Daccord was in position and the difference in the period, keeping the game scoreless as the teams headed to the first intermission.

The Bears continued to clog up the neutral zone to begin the middle frame, holding Coachella Valley to just six shots on net through the opening 24 minutes of regulation, but it wasn't long before the Firebirds' offense was able to get things going.

Carsen Twarynski was hooked on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot 3:46 into the second frame.

Shepard stoned Twarynski on the ensuing penalty shot - the first playoff penalty shot in Firebirds history - but McIlrath, the Bears captain, put his team shorthanded on the next shift and Coachella Valley made the most of their fourth power play chance of the evening.

Alexander True got Hughes the puck behind the net, and he got it out in front to Froden for a quick shot past Shepard to give Coachella Valley a 1-0 lead 5:08 into the middle period.

Evans started a rush up-ice on the next shift and, although his shot was stopped by Shepard, Shane Wright collected the rebound at the side of the net before taking it behind the net and feeding it out to Poganski between the circles. Poganski weaved to the right-wing circle before snapping a shot past the Bears' netminder to extend the Firebirds' lead to 2-0 on a pair of goals just 1:14 apart.

The Bears - and McIlrath in particular - continued to take penalties in the middle frame, and the game simply got away from them as they began chasing things.

Evans fired a shot from from just inside the center point that banked off a Bears' defender in front and blooped into the top shelf to push Coachella's Valley lead to 3-0 with 8:05 left in the middle frame, and the frustration just continued to mount for the visitors - who had for all intents and purposes played a pretty solid opening 25 minutes or so and really limited chances against.

The Bears simply took too many penalties, and when trailing and needing to create offensive chances of their own, it can snowball quickly like it did in the middle frame.

McIlrath took his third penalty of the period - and fourth total in the game to that point - with 1:45 left before the second intermission and Hughes went coast-to-coast in short order to give the Firebirds a commanding 4-0 lead.

In fact, the Bears took another penalty in the final minute of the period - giving Coachella Valley their eighth man advantage of the contest with some carry-over power play time to begin the third period with.

Coachella Valley, anchored by Daccord, preserved the 4-0 lead all the way to the final horn for Daccord's third shutout of the postseason - becoming the first goalie since Moe Roberts of the Cleveland Barons in the 1939 Calder Cup Finals to begin the Calder Cup Finals with back-to-back shutout performances.

Hershey Bears Lineup Notes

Hunter Shepard got the start in net for Hershey in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals. Zach Fucale served as Shepard's backup.

On defense, Vincent Iorio returned to the Bears' blue line after missing the previous five games due to injury.

Up front, Ethen Frank returned to action after being in and out of the lineup as a healthy scratch in the postseason after a 30-goal regular season in his first full year of pro hockey.

Bears Scratches:  Garin Bjorklund, Clay Stevenson, Jake Massie, Shane Gersich, Alexander Suzdalev, Julian Napravnik, Bogdan Trineyev, Mike Sgarbossa, Benton Maass, Michael Kim, Ludwig Persson, Bobby Nardella, Henrik Rybinski and Matt Strome

Lines/Pairings:

Mike Vecchione - Henrik Borgstrom - Ethen Frank Joe Snively - Connor McMichael - Garrett Pilon Aliaksei Protas - Hendrix Lapierre - Sam Anas Beck Malenstyn - Riley Sutter - Mason Morelli

Aaron Ness - Logan Day Gabriel Carlsson - Dylan McIlrath Lucas Johansen - Vincent Iorio

Hunter Shepard - Zach Fucale

Coachella Valley Firebirds Lineup Notes

Joey Daccord got the start in Game 2 for Coachella Valley, with Chris Driedger serving as the Firebirds' backup.

No changes to the lineup for the Firebirds in Game 2.

Firebirds Scratches: Christopher Gibson, Jake McLaughlin, Peetro Seppala, Nick Pastujov, Luke Henman, Ian McKinnon, Ty Nelson, Ryan Winterton, Ville Ottavainen, Jeremy McKenna and Jacob Melanson

Lines/Pairings:

Cameron Hughes - Andrew Poturalski - Jesper Froden Max McCormick - Alex True - Kole Lind Tye Kartye - Ville Petman - John Hayden Carsen Twarynski - Shane Wright - Austin Poganski

Ryker Evans - Jimmy Schuldt Gustav Olofsson - Matt Tennyson Eddie Wittchow - Brogan Rafferty

Joey Daccord - Chris Driedger

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

5:09: CV - (PP) Froden, minor (holding) 7:33: HER - (PP) McIlrath, minor (interference) 10:30: HER - (PP) Frank, minor (tripping) 12:40: CV - (PP) Schuldt, minor (tripping) 15:03: HER - (PP) Johansen, minor (interference)

2nd Period

3:48: HER - (PP) McIlrath, minor (slashing) 5:08: CV - PPG Froden (4) - Hughes, True 6:22: CV - Poganski (1) - Wright, Evans 6:44: CV - (PP) McCormick, minor (holding) 9:45: HER - (PP) McIlrath, minor (interference) 11:55: CV - Evans (4) - Lind, McCormick 15:23: HER - (PP) Morelli, minor (cross-checking) 16:18: HER - Sutter, minor (cross-checking) 16:18: CV - Lind, minor (roughing) 18:15: HER - (PP) McIlrath, minor (tripping) 18:37: CV - PPG Hughes (1) - Daccord 19:15: HER - (PP) Lapierre, minor (hooking)

3rd Period

5:40: HER - (PP) Morelli, minor (elbowing) 18:34: HER - McIlrath - 10 minute misconduct 19:56: HER - Morelli, minor (cross-checking) 19:56: HER - Morelli, 10 minute misconduct 19:56: CV - Hayden, minor (cross-checking) 19:56: CV - Hayden, 10 minute misconduct

BOXSCORE

Hershey Bears 0 - 0 - 0 = 0 Coachella Valley 0 - 4 - 0 = 4

Shots

Hershey Bears 15 - 8 - 10 = 33 Coachella Valley 5 - 13 - 5 = 23

Goalies

HER: Hunter Shepard (19 saves - 23 shots) CV: Joey Daccord (33 saves - 33 shots)

Power Play

HER: 0-for-3 CV: 2-for-9

Penalty Kill

HER: 7-for-9 CV: 3-for-3