Bears, Firebirds Tied up in AHL Final

Mike Vecchione (Union) scored two goals, and also helped set up the game-winner by Ethen Frank (Western Michigan) as the Hershey Bears defeated the Coachella Valley Firebirds, 3-2, on Thursday night in Game Four of the 2023 Calder Cup Final at Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. The best-of-seven AHL championship series is now knotted at two games apiece, with the home team having won each of the four previous contests. 

A member of Union's 2014 NCAA championship team, Vecchione scored Hershey's first two goals, the first on a power play to open the game, and the second one breaking a 1-1 tie early in the second period. Frank, who tallied 30 goals during the 2022-23 AHL regular season, then connected late in the middle stanza for the game-winner for Hershey, the primary affiliate of the NHL's Washington Capitals. The Bears are seeking their 12th Calder Cup overall, and first since claiming back-to-back crowns in 2009 and 2010. Hunter Sheppard (Minnesota-Duluth), who won consecutive NCAA titles in 2018 and 2019 with UMD, stopped 21 shots to earn the win in goal for Hershey.

Austin Poganski (North Dakota) scored the first goal for the AHL Western Conference champion Firebirds, who are in their inaugural season, and are the affiliate of the NHL's Seattle Kraken. Joey Daccord (Arizona State) made 25 stops in defeat for Coachella Valley.

Game Five is tonight in Hershey at 8 p.m. ET, while Game Six will be contested at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Ca. on Monday at 10 p.m. ET. Both games will be televised on NHL Network.

ADDENDUM: Hershey took Game Five in overtime, 1-0, while Coachella Valley rallied for a 5-2 victory in Game Six. The deciding Game Seven will be contested on Wednesday, June 21, at 10 p.m. ET at Acrisure Arena, with the winner claiming the Calder Cup.

UMD's Shepard Gets Shutout in First AHL Start

Hunter Shepard (Minnesota-Duluth) definitely made his first American Hockey League start one for his personal scrapbook.

The Cohasset, Minn. native and Grand Rapids High School alumnus stopped all 28 shots and six power plays he faced on Sunday afternoon, as the Hershey Bears blanked the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 2-0, in an AHL game that was shown live on NHL Network.

The undrafted Shepard, 25, began his pro career this season with South Carolina (ECHL), where he went 6-5-2 with a 2.84 goals-against average in 14 appearances. He had originally signed a pro contract with Hershey in June.

The 6-foot-1 Shepard backstopped Minnesota-Duluth for three consecutive seasons, the last as a team captain, from 2017 to 2020. He twice earned All-America accolades and NCHC Goaltender of the Year recognition, once each as sophomore and a junior. 

In 119 career games at UMD, Shepard finished 76-37-5 with a 1.94 GAA and 17 shutouts, and also set a new NCAA record for most consecutive starts (105) by a goaltender. He also backstopped the Bulldogs to national titles in 2018 and 2019, and was poised to do so again last year before the college hockey season was canceled by COVID-19.

Coaching Carousel Continues

The coaching carousel has been going around and around in Division I men's college hockey since the national title game in Philadelphia over a month ago.

Scott Owens resigned at Colorado College, to be replaced by former Elmira skater and Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Mike Haviland.Owens led the Tigers to 324 wins and seven NCAA Tournament berths in his 15-year-tenure in Colorado Springs. Haviland, who helped Chicago to its 2010 Stanley Cup championship, was head coach at Hershey (AHL) last season, and had previously won two ECHL titles as a head coach.

Jim Roque was let go at Lake Superior State after nine seasons and replaced by former Michigan State forward Damon Whitten, who has coached at MSU, Wayne State, Alaska Anchorage and Michigan Tech in his career. It's the first time Whitten will be a head coach at the college level, with a Lakers club that hasn't made the NCAAs since 1996

Bob Prier resigned after three seasons at Princeton, although whether that was under duress or not hasn't been revealed—I hope it wasn't the case that he was forced out. Prier had succeeded Guy Gadowsky, who moved on to Penn State in 2011. His own replacement will be the first major hiring for new Princeton athletic director Mollie Marcoux, a Princeton hockey alumnae and a three-time MVP for the Tigers.

Lastly, Paul Pearl resigned after 19 seasons at the helm of his alma mater, Holy Cross, to take the associate position at Harvard. Pearl paced the Crusaders to 297 wins and two NCAA berths in his time, including an overtime upset of Minnesota in 2006. He will replace former Harvard assistant Albie O'Connell, who went back to Boston University where he captained the Terriers as an undergraduate.

Just over four months until the 2014-15 NCAA campaign begins—and the chance for more change behind the benches of Division I programs before the first puck drops.