Hershey Wins Second Straight Calder Cup

The Hershey Bears are back-to-back Calder Cup champions.

The Bears won their record 13th American Hockey league postseason title with a 5-4 overtime victory over the visiting Coachella Valley Firebirds on Monday night, before a record crowd of 11,013 at Giant Arena. Matt Strome's unassisted goal just over a minute into the extra session proved to be the deciding score. Hershey won the best-of-seven series in six games, one year after topping Coachella Valley in seven games in the AHL final. 

Cale Fleury forced overtime for the Firebirds on a goal with just under three minutes remaining in regulation, after Hershey had established leads of 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3. Pierrick Dubé scored three times for the Bears, while Chase Priskie (Quinnipiac) and Joe Snively (Yale) both recorded assists on the evening, and Hunter Shepard (Minnesota-Duluth) finished with 17 saves in net for Hershey in winning his second straight Calder Cup as starting goaltender. 

Cameron Hughes (Wisconsin) set up three goals on the night for Coachella Valley, including Fleury's late game-tying goal, while Ryan Winterton scored twice. The Firebirds have made the AHL final in each of the first two years of their existence, falling to Hershey both times in OT.

Monday also marked the final game behind the Firebirds bench for head coach Dan Bylsma (Bowling Green), who is leaving to take the helm of Coachella Valley's NHL parent club, the Seattle Kraken.

Hershey Ties Up Calder Cup Final Again

The 2024 Calder Cup Final is all tied up. Again.

The Hershey Bears rebounded for a 3-2 victory at Coachella Valley in Game Four on Thursday night to knot the best-of-seven series, two games to two. Joe Snively (Yale) notched the game-winning goal early in the third period, less than four minutes after the host Firebirds had knotted the game at two. Snively also drew an assist on Hershey's second goal of the contest, which gave the Bears a 2-1 lead late in the second stanza before 10,087 on-lookers at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, Ca.

Hunter Shepard (Minnesota-Duluth) stopped 22 of 24 shots for the Bears, who will attempt to take their first lead of the series in Game 5 on Saturday night at Coachella Valley.

Bears Bounce Back to Tie Calder Cup Final

The 2024 Calder Cup Final will not be a sweep.

Two days after falling short in a 4-3 loss in the series opener on Friday, the Hershey Bears rebounded with a 5-2 win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The best-of-seven series, which shifts to California for the next three games, is now tied, one to one.

Mike Vecchione (Union) set up two goals for the Bears on Sunday, while Hunter Shepard (Minnesota-Duluth) stopped 32 of 34 shots against before 10,507 spectators at Hershey's Giant Center. Shepard was named first star of the game, while Vecchione was third star.

Game Three is slated for Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, Cal., tonight at 10 p.m. ET. 

ADDENDUM: Coachella Valley took a two to one lead in the Calder Cup Final with a 6-2 victory over Hershey in Game Three. Max McCormick (Ohio State) scored three goals for the Firebirds, who outshot the Bears, 42-24. Coachella Valley will host Game Four on Thursday evening.

Hersey Earns 2024 AHL Eastern Conference Crown

Garrett Roe (St. Cloud State) whipped home a rebound less than eight minutes into overtime Wednesday night to lift the Hershey Bears to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Cleveland Monsters in Game 7 of the 2024 AHL Eastern Conference final. Hershey wins the best-of-seven series, four games to three, with three of those victories coming in OT. Cleveland forced a deciding contest by winning the previous three games of the series, after originally falling behind three games to none.

Hunter Shepard (Minnesota-Duluth) stopped 42 of 44 shots before 10,520 on-lookers last night for the Bears, who also got two points from Logan Day (Endicott), including the primary assist on Roe's game-winner. The Bears are looking to repeat as Calder Cup champions, and will face the Western Conference champion Coachella Valley Firebirds, whom they topped in seven games in last year's AHL final. Game One is slated for Friday night at Hershey's Giant Center.

Hershey Wins in OT, Claims 12th Calder Cup

The oldest franchise in the American Hockey League edged its newest organization for this year's playoff title, with two former NCAA champions leading the way.

Mike Vecchione (Union) scored off a rebound with 3:41 remaining in overtime, and Hunter Shepard (Minnesota-Duluth) made 45 saves in all tonight as the Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup over the first-year Coachella Valley Firebirds, 3-2, at a sold-out Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Cal.

Hershey claims its record 12th Calder Cup, in its 85th year of operation. After falling behind, 2-0, this evening, the Bears scored twice in the second period to knot matters before becoming the first team in this series to win a game on the road. Hershey won four of the last five games of the series, all by one goal, including three in overtime, after dropping the first two contests.

Shepard, who also backstopped UMD to consecutive NCAA titles in 2018 and 2019, also won this year's Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the AHL playoff MVP, after fashioning a 14-6 record with a 2.27 goals-against average and three shutouts. Vecchione, who helped Union to a national collegiate title in 2014, is the first player in AHL history to score the Calder Cup-clinching goal in a Game Seven in overtime. Joey Daccord (Arizona State) stopped 35 shots for Coachella Valley, which came within a goal of winning its first Calder Cup in its inaugural season of play.

Other former NCAA players on this year's Bears playoff roster included: Sam Anas (Quinnipiac), Logan Day (Providence/Endicott), Ethen Frank (Western Michigan), Shane Gersich (North Dakota), Mason Morelli (Nebraska-Omaha), Bobby Nardella (Notre Dame), Aaron Ness (Minnesota), Joe Snively (Yale), 

Hershey's victory tonight also concludes the 2022-23 hockey season as a whole.

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.

UMD Wins 2019 NCAA Men's Division I Hockey Title

For the second straight season, Minnesota-Duluth is the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national champion.

The Bulldogs scored once in each period Saturday to blank the University of Massachusetts, 3-0, in the 2018-19 national title game at Key Bank Center in Buffalo. Minnesota-Duluth (29-11-2 overall), which played in its third consecutive NCAA championship game, is the first back-to-back Division I men's hockey national champion since Denver in 2004 and 2005.

Parker Mackay (power-play goal), Mikey Anderson, and Jackson Cates scored for the Bulldogs, while Hunter Shepard stopped all 18 shots by UMass (31-10-0 overall). UMD outshot UMass, 31-18, and also snuffed all four power play attempts by the Minutemen, who were the top power play team in the nation this season.

Mackay, who also assisted on Anderson's second-period goal, was named Most Outstanding Player of this year's Frozen Four after playing in his final collegiate contest Saturday. Filip Lindberg finished with 28 stops for the Minutemen, who suffered the fourth shutout loss of their most successful  season ever.

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has now won the last four consecutive NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national championships, after its formation in 2013. It will try for five straight national titles next April at the 2020 NCAA Frozen Four in Detroit.

Minnesota-Duluth Wins 2018 NCAA Men's Hockey Title

The last team into the tournament was the last team left standing.

For the first time since 2011, the University of Minnesota-Duluth is the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national champion. The Bulldogs outlasted Notre Dame, 2-1, on Saturday before a sold-out crowd of 18,303 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The national title is the second in UMD men's hockey history, while the Fighting Irish was seeking its first NCAA championship.

UMD (25-16-3 overall) took a 1-0 lead on a goal by senior captain Karson Kuhlman just over nine minutes into the first period, then assisted on the game-winning goal by Jared Thomas just over nine-and-a-half minutes later. Big Ten champion Notre Dame (28-10-2) got back within one on a score by Andrew Oglevie 7:40 into the second period, but was shut down by the Bulldogs the rest of the way.

Cale Morris, who won the 2018 Mike Richter Award as college hockey's top goaltender, finished with 33 saves for the Irish, while Hunter Shepard made 19 stops for the Bulldogs. UMD also outshot the Irish, 35-20, and went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Notre Dame was 1-for-2 with a man advantage.

UMD finished as national runner-up to Denver last year, dropping a 3-2 decision in last year's championship game in Chicago, after Notre Dame had fallen to DU in the semifinals. The Bulldogs edged Michigan, 3-2, in overtime in the 2011 NCAA championship game, also in St. Paul, after first ousting the Irish in a semifinal match, while Notre Dame dropped a 4-1 decision to Boston College in the 2008 national title tilt in Denver. The Bulldogs and Irish both advanced to this year’s championship contest with Frzoen Four national semifinal triumphs on Thursday, with UMD topping Ohio State, 2-1, and Notre Dame outlasting Michigan, 4-3.

The Bulldogs received the last at-large bid into this year's 16-team NCAA Tournament by .0001 percentage point over in-state rival Minnesota, according to the Pairwise Rankings that mimic the NCAA's selection process. UMD's victory Saturday also marked three consecutive NCAA titles for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, following Denver last year and North Dakota in 2016.

2018 National Hockey Title Game Matchup Set

Louie Roehl and Jared Thomas scored 1:11 apart in the the first four minutes of play, and the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs held on for a 2-1 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the early NCAA Frozen Four men's hockey semifinal on Thursday in St. Paul, Minn.

Tanner Laczynski finally got the Buckeyes on the board on a power play with 10:33 remaining in regulation, but that was as close as OSU would get in its first Frozen Four appearance in 20 years. Hunter Shepard made 19 saves for UMD as the Bulldogs advanced to the national title game for the second straight season, and also eliminated OSU in the NCAAs for the second consecutive year.

Sean Romeo finished with 26 saves for the Buckeyes, who were outshot, 28-20, overall, including 17-4 over the opening 20 minutes.

In the nightcap at the XCel Energy Center, Notre Dame outlasted Michigan as Jake Evans drove to the net and scored with 5.2 seconds left on the clock for a 4-3 win for the Fighting Irish.

Evans scored two goals and set up another as Notre Dame rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit to take a 3-2 third-period lead. After Michael Pastujov scored for the Wolverines with just over five minutes remaining in regulation to tie the contest, the game appeared headed to overtime until Evan's last-second heroics.

Tony Calderone and Dexter Dancs had a goal and an assist apiece for Michigan, while Andrew Oglevie (power-play goal) and Cal Burke tallied the Irish's other goals. Notre Dame outshot Michigan, 29-28, and also got 25 saves from Cale Morris, while Hayden Lavigne made 25 stops for the Wolverines.

The Bulldogs and Fighting Irish will meet on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) to decide the 2018 national championship. UMD won its first NCAA crown in 2011, when it defeated Michigan in OT in St. Paul. Big Ten champion Notre Dame is seeking its first-ever national hockey title, having last appeared in the NCAA championship tilt in 2008 when it fell to Boston College in Denver.