Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
For as much attention as their high-end talent gets, the Hershey Bears possess two other must-have elements to play into June: they own exceptional depth, and they like each other.
In the first two games of the Calder Cup Finals last year against Coachella Valley, the Firebirds dominated the Bears in nearly every facet and outscored them by a combined 9-0. Then the Bears came back to Hershey, took three one-goal victories in a row – two of them in overtime – and brought that series back to Acrisure Arena with a chance to win the Calder Cup.
But the Firebirds won Game 6 and had the Bears down 2-0 deep into the second period of Game 7. Yet the Bears just kept grinding. They managed to tie the game by the end of the second period, withstand a furious third, and then win the franchise’s 12th Calder Cup title on Mike Vecchione’s overtime goal.
After two overtime wins to begin the current Eastern Conference Finals series with Cleveland, Hershey is 6-0 in OT over the last two postseasons. During 2023-24, they went 8-0 in games decided during the 3-on-3 extra period. Time after time for they have shown that they can manage pressure.
Their formidable depth is helping alleviate some of that pressure as they sit one win away from a return to the Calder Cup Finals. Defensemen Lucas Johansen, Aaron Ness, Hardy Häman Aktell, Logan Day and Vincent Iorio have all missed action this postseason; only Chase Priskie and captain Dylan McIlrath have played all 11 playoff games on the Hershey blue line. Up front, Riley Sutter missed the first two playoff rounds, and Pierrick Dubé and Henrik Rybinski were injury scratches for Game 4 in Cleveland on Thursday night.
Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer and the Washington Capitals sit down each summer and devote just as much attention to building the bottom half of the Hershey roster as they do to splashy high-end additions via free agency.
It pays off come the spring.
Forward Matt Strome has become a favorite of head coach Todd Nelson. He at times was one of Hershey’s top forwards in series wins against Lehigh Valley and Hartford before Sutter’s return pushed him out of the lineup. Nelson confidently slotted Strome back in with Dubé’s absence.
Matthew Phillips, who scored 36 goals last season for the Calgary Wranglers, spent most of this season in the NHL but has only cracked Nelson’s lineup for five games during the playoffs. That’s the…
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