Coachella Valley falls 5-2 to Hershey Bears in Game two of Calder Cup Finals
By Silvia Leija Rosas, edited by Charles Hamaker
Hershey, PA - The Coachella Valley Firebirds were handed only their second loss of the postseason IN 2024, after falling 2-5 to the Hershey Bears in Game two of the Calder Cup Finals on Sunday evening. There wouldn’t be any sort of massive push of momentum early into the series by taking two games on the road, as the Firebirds will have to settle for the two game split as they return to Coachella Valley for the next three games of this series. While the Firebirds have largely steamrolled throughout the course of these AHL playoffs this year, it is the Calder Cup Finals and this Hershey Bears team will not be any sort of pushover.
Photos as the Coachella Valley Firebirds arrive for game two of the Calder Cup Finals in Pennsylvania against the Hershey Bears, and during pregame warmups. (Photos by Mike Zitek)
After a game one win on Friday that got tighter than it needed to be, the Firebirds found themselves outshooting the Bears 34-20 against the pads of the American Hockey League’s outstanding goaltender for the 2023-24 season, Hunter Shepard.
For the second straight game, Hershey opened the scoring at Giant Center after Ivan Miroshnichenko scored his seventh playoff goal, five minutes into the first period. Ryan Winterton, Ryker Evans and Cameron Hughes all had scoring chances for Coachella Valley that were kept out by Shepard to deny a quick response.
The tables turned going into the second period after Coachella Valley forward Luke Henman scored his first of the playoffs to even out the game 1-1 at 2:42. The Bears seeming lack of offensive play wasn’t enough for the Firebirds to find the net again, unfortunately. Despite outshooting Hershey 24-13, the Firebirds went back to the locker room down two after 40 minutes.
Coachella Valley Firebirds forward, and the first signing ever in Seattle Kraken history, Luke Henman scored the first goal of this game to get his team on the board. (Photos by Mike Zitek)
Everything seemed to be coming up for the Firebirds after Marian Studenic scored his third goal of the postseason, 17 seconds into the third period, cutting the Hershey lead to one for a 2-3 score. A shot by Hardy Häman Aktell after the Bears won the faceoff put the Firebirds down by two once again, and they were unable to recover – losing Game two with a 2-5 final score to even the series at a game each.
Coachella Valley Firebirds forward Marian Studenic scored the second goal of the night for the team, cutting the Hershey Bears lead down. (Photos by Mike Zitek)
Driedger in net
Coachella Valley goaltender Chris Driedger is no stranger to the postseason pressure. Despite this being the 30-year-old’s first taste of the Calder Cup playoffs, he has three appearances in 2021 for the Florida Panthers in his back pocket. The goalie is known to have a cool, reliable demeanor that has taken the team this far, including to that game one win.
During Game two, Driedger found himself on the other side of several 2-on-1s and an unfortunate turnover behind the net in the second that left the Bears’ Jimmy Huntington open to score Hershey’s second goal of the night. While it wasn’t his best showing, his teammates left a lot to be desired in front of the net–Driedger found himself unprotected more often than not and easy blocks became goals for the Bears.
As the finals head West to Acrisure Arena in Coachella Valley, it’s a good moment to remind everyone what Driedger has accomplished at home this season. With a .917% save percentage, a 2.68 goals-against average and a Firebirds fan-filled arena, Driedger will continue to make his case for a Calder Cup Finals victory to top off what’s been an impressive year for him at the AHL level.
Shane Wright returns!
Seattle’s top prospect and one of the major pieces of their future, and soon to be current, Shane Wright returned to action in game two of the series and was largely the highlight of the night for the Firebirds. Coachella Valley has seen his talents develop since he joined the team late into last season, and with that development that many in the fanbase and NHL world questioned, the Kraken prospect seems primed to step right into a strong position with Seattle next season. For now, he’s focused on helping the Firebirds win their first Calder Cup ever, playing in just their second season ever as a franchise.
Despite not being able to score on Shepard after driving the puck down the right side of the ice on the opening faceoff of the third period, Wright was part of Studenic’s second goal for the Firebirds. With two Bears coming up on him, Wright spun them around and pushed the puck into Studenic's stick. The Coachella Valley broadcast called Wright "the best player for the Firebirds all night long."
What’s Next?
The Hershey Bears and our Coachella Valley Firebirds will meet again for Game three of the Calder Cup Finals on Thursday, June 20th at Acrisure Arena at 7PM PDT, 10PM EDT. If the Firebirds are able to come through for a second straight victory to open up these Finals, after splitting the first two games of the series in Pennsylvania, it will put the Firebirds in a big position to be able to take the series potentially considering that the next two games of the series are in Coachella Valley. To view these games, you can purchase a daily pass on AHL.TV for $8.99 or pay about $30 for a pass that will span the length of this series, that originally gave you access to the entirety of the AHL playoffs. Circling Seattle Sports will have game recaps of every game from the series, brought to you by Silvia.
The remainder of the series schedule is as follows (all times in PST):
Game 3 – Tuesday, June 18 at Coachella Valley’s Acrisure Arena, 7PM PDT
Game 4 – Thursday, June 20 at Coachella Valley’s Acrisue Arena, 7PM PDT
*Game 5 – Saturday, June 22 at Coachella Valley’s Acrisure Arena, 6PM PDT
*Game 6 – Monday, June 24 at the GIANT Center, 4PM PDT
*Game 7 – Wednesday, June 26 at the GIANT Center, 4PM PDT
*If necessary
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Check out our previous Coachella Valley Firebirds articles here.
Check out more articles by our Seattle Kraken beat writer Silvia Leija Rosas here.
Cover photo and photos in this article by Coachella Valley Firebirds photographer, Mike Zitek.
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