One more. The Hershey Bears can finish the job at Giant Center on Monday in Game Six of the Calder Cup Finals and hoist the franchise’s 13th championship title. Todd Nelson and his team know it’s going to be a war as it’s been all playoffs, but the team has a tremendous opportunity. The Bears haven’t lifted the Cup at home since 2010, and before that, it dates back to 1980 at Hersheypark Arena.
Bears fans will try to best the attendance record set back in 2010: a crowd of 11,002 packed Giant Center for a 4-0 win in Game Six of the Calder Cup Finals against the Texas Stars. The mark has never been passed as the largest recorded crowd for a Bears game at Giant Center. Coincidentally, back in 2010, the Bears were also contending for back-to-back Calder Cups, an accomplishment this year’s team is battling for on Monday night.
The Bears landed back at Harrisburg International Airport on Sunday evening to a large group of fans welcoming them back in. It took until the late hours of the day to get everyone back to Giant Center as the last trip this team will take this season. Hershey promptly exited the desert early on Sunday, taking the cross-country trip back home.
Hershey has had trouble closing out series in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs. It took a bit of a reset for the team to close out Game Four against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the second round (Hershey’s first round) as well as the infamous Cleveland series. However, the Bears have successfully defended one-goal leads in Games Four and Five in a hostile environment, something that the team has been highly successful at all season long. In short, it’s yet another way the team has looked like themselves in recent time.
The Bears have gotten contributions up and down their lineup, with different lines stepping up in each game. In Game Four, Hershey’s top line of Ethen Frank, Hendrix Lapierre, and Joe Snively all factored in on the scoring. Two days later, it was Alex Limoges, Jimmy Huntington, and Pierrick Dubé with an exceptional effort. Hershey has gotten that kind of production in spades in these playoffs, and when every line is scoring, it’s no wonder they’re a significant threat.
Finding ways to score and limit the potent Firebirds offense will continue to be the key for the Bears’ success. Nelson mentioned after Saturday’s game that he expects Coachella Valley to ramp up their play another notch. When the Bears have won in this series, they’ve limited the Firebirds to just two goals in their three wins. Allowing four goals or more has led to their two losses.
It’s worth noting there could be some lineup adjustments for the Bears tonight. Injured forward Garrett Roe was given a strong possibility for Game Six by head coach Todd Nelson. Although Aaron Ness is still officially day-to-day, he’s taken warmups in the last two games and boosted the morale of his teammates. With so much on the line, all of these players want to get back on the ice for a situation like this one. The returning players would likely force Matt Strome and Nicky Leivermann out of the lineup as a result, should they be able to play.
It all goes down tonight at a sold-out Giant Center at 7:00 PM EST! It’s the biggest night of the season yet and a potential to be a very special one!
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