The Hershey Bears are heading west with a split in the Calder Cup Finals. In an essential Game Two at Giant Center, the Bears took a 5-2 decision over the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Both teams will board a plane bound for California as the series shifts across the country to Palm Springs. Hunter Shepard made 32 saves on 34 shots as the game’s number one star in an impressive showing. All three games in Coachella Valley will be necessary as a result of the decision.
Renewed Rivalry
Much as they did in Game One, the Bears jumped out to an early lead. Mike Vecchione jumped off the bench and made a deft move to dance around a defender. He carried it low and centered it to Ivan Miroshnichenko, who beat the goaltender for the early lead. Miroshnichenko announced his presence in the Calder Cup Finals with his seventh goal of the postseason.
The first period saw the beginning of a trend in the game: a volume of Firebirds shots. Coachella Valley outshot Hershey in all three periods of the game. They’d break through in the second period with Luke Henman’s first goal of the postseason through a screen. Henman, who played for the Firebirds last season but did not dress in the final round, has been a positive force for his team.
In the Bears’ Den
After the Henman goal, the spotlight was on Shepard and the Bears’ defense. The Firebirds had the majority of puck possession as well as a 12-4 shot edge in the period. Despite the low shot count, Hershey made the most of their chances to open a two-goal lead. Hershey has shown resiliency in these playoffs and wouldn’t back down.
Goaltender Chris Driedger went behind his net to play the puck on a dump-in. Hershey’s Alex Limoges got in on the forecheck and pressured the puck off the goaltender’s stick. He found Jimmy Huntington all alone with a yawning cage to put the Bears back in the lead. The goal is Huntington’s third of the postseason and rewards the strong play of their line in recent time.
Hershey took a two-goal edge into the final frame. Limoges made another excellent outlet pass to send Huntington ahead with speed. Huntington bobbled the puck briefly before firing a pass across to Pierrick Dubé, who made no mistake in finding twine. Dubé was launched into the end boards, causing the scorer to briefly leave the game before the third period. It’s his fourth goal of the playoffs after scoring a big tally in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Sweating the Third Period
Hershey’s inability to hold a lead in the third period during the Cleveland series has been well documented. For a time, the Bears had to sweat it out in the third as the Firebirds cut their lead to one goal. Marian Studenic tallied his third goal of the postseason on a failed clearing attempt from Hershey. The Firebirds were within a goal just 17 seconds into the frame.
Halfway through the third, Hershey was looking for a hero and found one in an unlikely source. Vecchione stepped into the faceoff circle in the offensive zone and won it cleanly back. Hardy Haman Aktell stepped into a blast that beat Driedger to restore a two-goal edge. Haman Aktell, in his first season at the AHL level, has stepped up in the absence of so many regulars on the blue line.
“He’s been our best defenseman in the playoffs,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said of Haman Aktell. “Game One, he played a really strong game. Tonight, he got rewarded with a couple goals. He’s a guy we look to in order to shut other lines down. He’s been good on the penalty kill and has elevated his game.”
Room to Improve
The fourth goal would come in handy for the Bears as they found themselves down a man late in the third. With the goaltender pulled and the Firebirds pressing, Haman Aktell stepped up again to score on the empty net. His second goal of the night gives him three goals in Hershey’s last two games. The Bears wrapped up a 5-2 decision to send the series across the country even at one apiece. Nelson was critical of the overall performance but was happy with the win.
“Let’s be honest here, we got away with one here,” Nelson said after the game. “If Shep doesn’t play extremely well, we don’t win that game. We were extremely opportunistic with our chances. (Coachella Valley) elevated their game, and we got worse.”
“That’s two games in a row now that we’ve been hemmed in our own zone in the second period. We haven’t made plays. I’m happy with the win, but we have to be a lot better if we want to extend this series.”
“We know what we’re getting ourselves into (on the road). I do know that our team will be better, because it couldn’t get any worse than it was tonight.”
California Bound Bears
With a short turnaround for Game Three, the Bears boarded “Bear Force One” bound for California less than two hours after this game’s completion. Hershey borrowed their wings from the New England Patriots, whose logos adorned the craft waiting at Harrisburg International Airport. The Bears begin their cross-country journey knowing they’ll need to play all three possible games at Acrisure Arena.
Coachella Valley plays from a position of strength on home ice. The Firebirds are a perfect 6-0 on home ice in the playoffs, outscoring opponents 23-12. It’ll be their first game on home ice in over two weeks, setting the stage for a raucous environment. It took four games and then some for Hershey to take a win on the road last year. They’ll need to find at least one on the road in order to take a title.
Game Three is set for Tuesday, June 18, at 7:00 PM local time and 10:00 PM EST.
