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Washington Capitals: AHL Affiliate Hershey Bears Win their First Round Playoff Series

By Michael Marzzacco

HERSHEY, PA - JANUARY 05: Hershey Bears center Brian Pinho (28) waits for a face-off during the Grand Rapids Griffins vs. Hershey Bears AHL game at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
HERSHEY, PA - JANUARY 05: Hershey Bears center Brian Pinho (28) waits for a face-off during the Grand Rapids Griffins vs. Hershey Bears AHL game at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals season may be over but if you’re a Caps fan who has some hockey withdrawals look no further than the Hershey Bears who are competing for a Calder Cup.

The Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals AHL affiliate, is in the middle of Calder Cup playoff action competing for a Calder Cup. The Bears had a successful regular season with a 43-15-4-4 mark with 94 points, finishing third place in the Atlantic Division.

Their opponent would be the second place Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Bears won the series in the decisive Game 5 3-2 in overtime. Let’s take a quick look at each game.

Game 1

The Hershey Bears dropped the playoff opener in double overtime 3-2. After a scoreless first period where goalie Ilya Samsonov made 15 saves, Chris McCarthy put the Bears on the board. The Bears doubled their lead with a breakaway goal on the penalty kill from Jason Megna.

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Bridgeport finally got on the board just over a minute later as they were still on a lengthy power play which was a double-minor high sticking by Mike Sgarbossa.

Then late in the game after Tyler Lewington went to the box for tripping while Megna was called for throwing equipment, Steve Bernier tied it on a 5-on-3 power play with just 2:04 left. Kieffer Bellows, who scored the game’s first goal, won the game in double OT. Samsonov recorded 49 saves in the defeat.

Game 2

Behind a shutout from Vitek Vanecek where he stopped all 39 shots he faced, the Bears bounced back to even the series at a game apiece with a 2-0 win. The Bears did a good job earning a split on the road to begin the series. Hershey struck in the opening period thanks to a deflection goal from Mike Sgarbossa on a shot from Lucas Johansen. Riley Barber doubled Hershey’s lead in the second and the Bears hung on.

Game 3

The series shifted to Giant Center in Hershey, and the Bears picked up where they left off from the big shutout with a huge win on home ice in Game 3. The win gave the Bears a 2-1 series lead to push the Sound Tigers to the brink of elimination. Liam O’Brien opened up the scoring before the visitors tied it to make it 1-1 at first intermission. It was a scoreless second making the third period vital. Ryan Sproul scored early in the third period to put the Bears in front 2-1 and they’d hang on to win.

Game 4

The Bears couldn’t close out the Sound Tigers at home as they dropped the fourth game 3-2 in overtime. Brian Pinho gave the Bears a 1-0 lead in the first period. Bridgeport tied it in the second before the Bears retook the lead thanks to Jason Megna. Bridegport tied it early in the third and won it in overtime thanks to Matt Lorito. That forced a winner-take-all Game 5.

Game 5

The Bears advanced to the second round with an overtime win in Game 5 thanks to a goal from Brian Pinho at 10:27.

The Sound Tigers scored the first goal of the game in the first period by Game 4 hero Lorito. Joe Whitney tied it in the second period before the Sound Tigers retook the lead. Hershey tied it back up thanks to Riley Barber. It was scoreless in the third before Pinho won it in overtime.

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The Bears will head to Charlotte on Friday night to begin their second round series with the Checkers, the Carolina Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate. Puck drop for Game 1 is at 7 p.m.

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