After winning their first round series in overtime in the decisive Game 5, the Hershey Bears begin the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs this weekend.
The Hershey Bears will head to Charlotte to take on the Checkers in the Atlantic Division Finals, the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes just nine days after the big clubs finished their seven-game first round series.
The Bears got to this point with a 3-2 series win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers that saw four of the five games be decided beyond regulation with the series being decided in overtime of Game 5 thanks to a goal from Brian Pinho.
The Checkers are coming off a first round series win over the Providence Bruins that took four games. The Checkers began that series on the road and came away with a split before closing the series out in the Queen City.
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Charlotte finished the season 51-17-7-1 for 110 points, the top team in the AHL. They’re 41-0-0-0 in the regular season and playoffs combined when they have a lead after two periods. Forward Andrew Poturaiski leads the AHL in playoff scoring with nine points (5 goals, 4 assists).
The Checkers are in a unique situation with their parent club in the playoffs. Because of that they’ll likely be without their star goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who was recalled to join the Hurricanes in their run. Nedeljkovic finished his regular season with a 34-9-5 record, a 2.26 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and four shutouts.
Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov each split goaltending duties in the first round while the other went up to the Capitals as an extra goaltender for their playoff run. Vanecek and Samsonov stopped a combined 180-of-189 shots in the first round for a 1.56 GAA and .952 save percentage.
This is only the second playoff meeting between the Bears and Checkers and the first since 2011 where Charlotte bested Hershey in the first round in six games. That ended the Bears’ quest to three-peat as Calder Cup champions.
Riley Barber and Jason Megna lead the Bears this postseason with four points each (both with two goals, two assists). The Bears went 3-0-0-1 in four meetings with the Checkers in the regular season. and have won the last three games
Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Finals begins Friday night at Bojangles’ Coliseum with a 7 p.m. puck drop. Game 2 is Saturday. The series shifts to Hershey for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.