The Washington Capitals may be eliminated but their AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears are in playoff action looking to defend their Calder Cup title. Last night they got a 2-1 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who are affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers. It was Game 1 of the Atlantic Division semifinals in front of a crowd of 8,038 at Giant Center.
Hendrix Lapierre opened up the scoring for Hershey at 3:29 in the first period, deflecting in a shot from defenseman Chase Priskie. Ethen Frank had the secondary assist as Lapierre beat goaltender Cal Peterson.
Henrik Rybinski extended the Bears streak to 2-0 at 17:17 in the second period, taking advantage of a puck that deflected off of Dylan Strome's brother Matthew. The play was set up by Bogdan Trineyev.
Tanner Laczynski got the Phantoms on the board at 15:28 of the third period and shots would finish 31-28 in favor of the Phantoms but playoff MVP from last season Hunter Shepard was once again lights out in goal as he finished with 30 saves in the winning effort. Per the Bears, this was the first game on record dating back to 1980 that did not feature a power play opportunity for either team.
The series continues on Saturday night May 4 at 7 p.m. from Giant Center in Hershey. You can catch the game on Monumental Sports Network in the DC area thanks to a recent partnership between Monumental Sports Network and WPMT FOX 43. Last season the Bears defeated the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the Calder Cup Finals and this year were the best team in the AHL hands down.
""We are thrilled to bring back our partnership with Hershey so fans in the DMV region can watch the Bears try to defend their title. With the Mystics season tipping off soon, and the Calder Cup Playoffs, NWSL, and Major League Rugby on our air, this is going to be an action packed spring and summer at Monumental Sports Network.""Caitlin Magnum
You can find the Bears full Calder Cup playoff schedule at HersheyBears.com/Schedule. You can watch the games online and stream through your paid TV provider at MonumentalSportsNetwork.com.
As sad as it is that Capitals hockey is over, we counted on the Bears last year to hold it down and they delivered. Lets see if the Baby Caps can do the same thing this year.