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Bears fend off Firebirds to even up Calder Cup Finals with Game 4 win

matt weyrich
·2 min read

Bears fend off Firebirds to even up Calder Cup Finals with Game 4 win originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Hershey Bears have hit the reset button on the Calder Cup Finals. After dropping each of the first two games to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on the road, the Bears evened up the series with a 3-2 victory in Game 4 on Thursday.

Playing its second of three consecutive games at a sold-out Giant Center, Hershey followed a similar script to that of its Game 3 win by jumping out to an early lead and fending off Coachella Valley for the rest of regulation. Unlike Game 3, this contest didn't require extra time to determine a winner.

Here are some notes from Game 4...

  • Just as they did in Game 3, the Bears came out aggressive to open the contest. Hershey got the crowd going with several big hits up along the glass before providing an even bigger energy boost by landing a power-play goal off the stick of left wing Mike Vecchione four and a half minutes into the game.

  • After Coachella Valley tied it back up, the Bears had a prime opportunity to retake the lead when they picked up a 5-on-3 power play late in the period. Hershey couldn't convert, however, and a post-buzzer penalty by center Riley Sutter pushed the momentum in the Firebirds' favor heading into the break.

  • The Bears recovered, killing the penalty to begin the second before defenseman Logan Day made a slick cross-ice pass to find a wide-open Vecchione right on the doorstep.

  • Hershey kept its foot on the gas pedal and extended its lead to 3-1 when right wing Ethen Frank showed off his high-powered shot by going top shelf to beat Firebirds netminder Joey Daccord. After going 11 straight games to open the postseason without a goal, Frank has now scored in back-to-back games.

  • Coachella Valley would draw closer with a second-period tally, but that was as close as the visitors would get. Bears goaltender Hunter Shepard finished with 19 saves on 21 chances, improving his record this postseason to 12-5-2.

  • Hershey will now host the Firebirds in one more game at home Saturday before the series heads back to Southern California to determine a champion.