Hershey Bears Weekly Notebook 6/6/23

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HERSHEY, Pa. - The Hershey Bears (Washington) are off to the Calder Cup Finals for the 24th time in franchise's history in the American Hockey League (AHL), and they'll face a team from California for the first time since a February 7, 1968 game against a now defunct Western Hockey League team from San Diego (unrelated to the AHL's current San Diego Gulls franchise) when they battle the Coachella Valley Firebirds (Seattle) for the 2023 championship beginning with Thursday night's Game One in Palm Springs, California.

Before the Bears battle the Firebirds, a look back through the Eastern Conference Finals with highlights/quotes and a deeper breakdown of where things went right and what adjustments need to be made.

Recapping The Eastern Conference Finals

Game 1 - Rochester 5, Hershey 1

In Game 1 in Hershey, the Americans struck early and often en route to take the first game of the best-of-seven series.

Hunter Shepard had an uncharacteristic night, allowing four goals before being replaced by Zach Fucale. Fucale was later pulled for an extra attacker, but the Amerks added an empty-net goal. Aaron Ness scored Hershey’s lone goal of the contest.

After the game Todd Nelson said, "We can't cry over spilled milk. You have to win games... win a series. That's just the way it is, so we just say game-by-game, and we're focused on what we need to work on. We're talking about it tomorrow, and then we're a clean slate on Thursday."

Game 2 - Rochester 0, Hershey 2

In Game 2 in Hershey, Shepard returned to the crease and returned to form with his first AHL shutout, a 24-save performance.

"He had some point-blankers that he made some huge saves for us early on," Nelson said of Shepard's bounce back performance in Game 2. "And that's what he's capable of doing. He played an outstanding game for our hockey team."

In the second period, it was Hershey's powerplay that got the Bears on the board. Henrick Borgstrom scored with assists to Connor McMichael and Mason Morelli.

Beck Malenstyn was the beneficiary of some solid work by Riley Sutter down low as Malenstyn doubled the Hershey lead with just 31 seconds to go in the period. Morelli earned his second assist of the evening on Malenstyn’s goal.

Game 3 - Hershey 4, Rochester 2

In Rochester, the Bears re-gained home ice advantage courtesy of a solid performance in Game 3.

Logan Day gave the Bears the lead just past the midway point of the first period.

In the second, Sam Anas, who had an assist on Day’s goal, tallied a powerplay goal. But Rochester would score later in the period. It remained a one-goal lead for a little under three minutes as McMichael tallied on a pass from Lucas Johansen. The Amerks once again cut the deficit to one, but Aliaksei Protas tacked on the empty net goal. Shepard made 31 saves in net.

Game 4 - Hershey 4, Rochester 2

Game 4 in Rochester did not get off to a great start for the Bears, but they came roaring back late to earn a 3-1 lead in the series.

The Americans held a 2-0 lead after two periods of play, but Johansen’s goal in the third started yet another Hershey comeback victory.

Day tied the game with his third goal of the postseason, Morelli broke the tie, and then added on an empty net goal with 57 seconds remaining. Shepard made 20 saves in the victory.

Game 5 - Rochester 4, Hershey 1

In their first attempt to close out the series and advance to the Calder Cup Finals, the Bears fell to a determined Rochester team.

The Amerks got on the board early in the first period and again early in the third, but a power-play goal from Protas brought the Bears back to within one.

Rochester made it a two-goal lead with a power-play goal of their own and tacked on an empty net goal for the victory.

Shepard made 23 saves in the loss, a game in which Nelson was anything but pleased with the performances of some of his players in front of Shepard.

Nelson said after the game, "I just told the guys I said, take your 10-15 minutes with this loss and think about things that you can do better next game. We'll talk about it tomorrow. You know, it's hard to beat that team four games in a row, but I thought we played well enough to win."

Game 6 - Hershey 1, Rochester 0

Back in Rochester, it was Shane Gersich scoring his first goal of the Calder Cup Playoffs that put Hershey on the board first in the second period. With both Gersich and Gabe Carlsson streaking towards the net, Malenstyn fired a shot off of Subban’s pads that bounced right to Gersich for the put-back. Gersich was entered into the lineup in place of Ethen Frank, a healthy scratch.

Later in the period, with both Protas and Sutter in the penalty box, the Bears and Shepard killed off a lengthy 5-on-3; Shepard was without his stick for most of that time. It was Shepard’s second shutout of the playoffs, as he went 24-for-24.

READ ALSO: Shepard 'The Backbone' Of Bears' Run To Calder Cup Finals

A Positional Perspective

Forwards

Hershey's third line has been on fire in the postseason. Protas leads the team in points (12) and goals (5). He's second in assists (7). His linemate, Anas, is second in points (10) and assists (7). Anas has recorded three goals while Hendrix Lapierre has added two goals and three assists.

The fourth line, typically with Malenstyn, Sutter, and Morelli has provided some big minutes as well. Additionally, every one of Hershey's forwards who have dressed in at least one game have contributed offensively.

Defense

Logan Day has been the story on the blueline for Hershey in the postseason. From no goals scored in the regular season, Day has three goals and six assists so far this postseason.

Additionally, Jake Massie's defensive heroics on the lengthy 5-on-3 PK to help keep Rochester off the scoreboard and preserve Shepard's second shutout of the postseason provided yet another highlight on the blueline for Hershey.

Goaltending

Shepard recorded his first AHL postseason shutout in Game 2, just one game after getting off to a rocky start in Game 1 that saw him pulled in favor of Zach Fucale.

Nelson went right back to Shepard, and the netminder responded in a huge way.Throughout the postseason, Shepard has amassed a 10-3-0 record, a 1.85 GAA, and a .929 GAA against Charlotte, Hartford, and Rochester.

For Nelson, it was a no-brainer to go back to Shepard in Game 2.

"He was really focused all day. He was ready to go yesterday," said Nelson, noting that Shepard was "the guy" going into the playoffs and one off night was not going to affect that decision, especially in light of how Shepard has bounced back from adversity in previous instances.

Special Teams

The PP: Hershey's powerplay is middle-of-the pack, ranking 10th overall with at 21.6% - a number that does not overly thrill Nelson.

Nelson said, "It's work ethic first and foremost. It's a privilege to be on the power play and not a God-given right. Guys have to work, and work their points, and we know that they're a hardworking team, so we got to work."

The PK: On the road with a one-goal lead, facing a lengthy 5-on-3 with one of your best penalty killers in the box is not going to turn out well nine times out of ten, but in Game 6 the Bears got herculean efforts from the PK, which is currently ranked 5th in the postseason at 85.7%. Hershey only trails Milwaukee of the four teams that made it to the Conference Finals round.

Bringing Back a Staple

The Good

The Bears, by virtue of their 1-0 victory in Rochester, won the Richard F. Canning Trophy as the 2022-2023 Eastern Conference Champions. They will begin their quest for a record 12th Calder Cup Championship Thursday night against Coachella Valley. It will be Hershey's 24th appearance in the Calder Cup Finals.

The Sad

In place of "The Bad" this week, the sad news out of Hershey this week was the death of the legendary Willie Marshall. Ironically, the Bears punched their ticket to the Calder Cup Finals on the day Marshall passed. A poignant moment of silence was observed at Blue Cross Arena prior Game 6.

The Ugly

Game 1 and Game 5 were both rather glaring losses. Both were on home ice at Giant Center.

Hershey's other loss, to Charlotte, was also at Giant Center, Game 3 in the Best-of-5 series to open the home slate of the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Additionally, the Bears have found themselves battling back in games they've won this year. Hershey is still looking for that "complete game" and will certainly need it against Coachella Valley. But with facing Coachella Valley, at least the Bears will start on the road.

2023 Calder Cup Finals Schedule

Game 1 Thursday, June 8: Hershey at Coachella Valley, 10:00 p.m. ET Game 2 Saturday, June 10: Hershey at Coachella Valley, 10:00 p.m. ET Game 3 Tuesday, June 13: Coachella Valley at Hershey, 7:00 p.m. ET Game 4 Thursday, June 15: Coachella Valley at Hershey, 7:00 p.m. ET ^Game 5 Saturday, June 17: Coachella Valley at Hershey, 7:00 p.m. ET ^Game 6 Monday, June 19: Hershey at Coachella Valley, 10:00 p.m. ET ^Game 7 Wednesday, June 21: Hershey at Coachella Valley, 10:00 p.m. ET

^ = if necessary