Hershey Bears Are Back-to-Back Calder Cup Champions
It's the second year in a row where Hershey beat Coachella Valley in OT to win the Cup
The Hershey Bears are once again Calder Cup champions, as Matt Strome scored the game-winning goal in overtime to beat the Coachella Valley Firebirds, 5-4, in Game 6 at Giant Center.
Strome scored the Cup-clinching goal only 66 seconds into OT, while Pierrick Dube recorded a hat trick, and experienced Washington Capital Hendrix Lapierre had a tally in the first period.
The Bears also defeated the Firebirds in OT last year when Mike Vecchione scored the game-winner for the 3-2 victory on the road in Game 7.
This is the 13th Calder Cup championship for Hershey, as they are the first AHL team to win back-to-back titles since… Hershey in 2009 and 2010.
Lapierre was named the MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs and received the Jack Butterfield Trophy, as he recorded 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in the Bears’ 20 postseason games. Goalie Hunter Shepard won the Jack Butterfield Trophy last year.
This is also the third Calder Cup victory for Bears head coach Todd Nelson, with his second being last year and his first being with Grand Rapids in 2017.
Hershey finished the regular season 53-14-0-5 to clinch the Atlantic Division title, and just like last year, the Capitals’ AHL affiliate went 14-6 in the postseason, advancing past the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Hartford Wolf Pack, and Cleveland Monsters en route to the Finals.
BACK-TO-BACK @CALDERCUP CHAMPS 🏆@TheHersheyBears | #RepeatTheRoar pic.twitter.com/UQqe5ItOYb
— Monumental Sports Network (@MonSportsNet) June 25, 2024
