Bears back in Coachella Valley for Game 6
Tonight the Hershey Bears will be going for their 12th Calder Cup championship in franchise history and their first since 2010. They will have to do it at a place that they struggled at earlier in the series.
When the Bears last left Coachella Valley they were down 2-0 in the series to the Firebirds. What followed was three straight solid performances on home ice at Giant Center to take control of the series up 3-2.
The latest result coming in an overtime nail biter that was ended by the heroics of Garrett Pilon. Hunter Shepard did a good job in goal making spectacular saves to keep the Bears in the game. Shepard made 21 stops for his third shutout of the playoffs.
The Bears overtime win in Game 5 was their second overtime victory of the series and third overall overtime win of the playoffs. The last time the Bears won three or more games in overtime was in 2017 when Hershey went 4-1 in games decided beyond regulation.
While the Bears enter Game 6 tonight on a two game road losing streak after dropping the first two games of the 2023 Calder Cup Finals by a combined 9-0 score, the Bears previously went 6-0 on the road to begin the playoffs.
That streak matched a franchise record for the most consecutive road wins during a single playoff season. The Bears are also 4-0 on the road in the playoffs when scoring first.
Mason Morelli set up Pilon’s game winning goal in overtime which extended his assist streak to three games. Hershey has gone 8-0 in the playoffs when the University of Nebraska Omaha alumnus gets on the scoresheet which is tied with Connor McMichael.
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Puck drop is at 10 p.m. and you can catch the game on NBC Sports Washington and NHL Network. Tonight could be a big night for some future Caps.