Evened Up at 1-1
In Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals, the Hershey Bears tied the series at 1-1 with a 5-2 victory at home over the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Sunday evening. Three players scored for Hershey: Ivan Miroschnichenko (1 goal), Jimmy Huntington (1 goal), Pierrick Dube (1 goal), and Hardy Haman Aktell (2 goals). The two goals from Coachella Valley were scored by Luke Henman and Marian Studenic. However, they were unable to score any more goals past Hershey goaltender Hunter Shepard, who stopped 32 out of 34 shots on goal.
Three Stars of Game 2:
1) Hunter Shepard – 32/34 Saves
2) Jimmy Huntington – 1 Goal, 1 Assist
3) Mike Vecchione – 2 Assists
Game 2 Highlights:
Short Turnaround
After winning on Sunday night, the Hershey Bears flew to California aboard the New England Patriots’ plane in style. The Coachella Valley Firebirds chose to spend the night in Pennsylvania before traveling back to California on Monday in preparation for Game 3 on Tuesday. The two teams will have to adjust to a significant time-zone difference as Hershey, PA is in the Eastern time zone, while Coachella Valley, CA is in the Pacific time zone, with a 3-hour difference.
Game 3 in Cali
The Coachella Valley Firebirds will host the Hershey Bears at 7:00 PM PDT (10:00 PM ET) on Tuesday night for Game 3 of the Calder Cup Final. The series is tied at 1-1, and both games have been close, despite how Game 2 looked on the scoreboard. For the Firebirds, it’s important to keep firing plenty of shots at goaltender Hunter Shepard and create traffic in front of him. They also need to stay strong defensively against the Bears’ strong offense and continue to keep their shot totals low. On the other hand, the Bears need to keep their winning momentum in the third period, as they did in Game 2. Increasing their shot count is crucial, as well as testing Firebirds’ goaltender Chris Driedger with traffic in front of him. Game 3 is expected to be a crucial matchup in this series, with both teams vying for a 2-1 series lead.
Players to Watch (Coachella Valley):
Chris Driedger: 11-3 Record, 35 GA, 2.49 GAA, 0.917 Save % – 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs
John Hayden: 9 Goals, 3 Assists (12 Points) – 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs
Cameron Hughes: 0 Goals, 11 Assists (11 Points) – 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs
Players to Watch (Hershey):
Hunter Shepard: 11-5 Record, 37 GA, 2.27 GAA, 0.917 Save % – 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs
Hendrix Lapierre: 5 Goals, 12 Assists (17 Points) – 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs
Joe Snively: 3 Goals, 11 Assists (14 Points) – 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs
Where to Watch/Listen:
Coachella Valley Audio: 106.9 The Eagle | Listen | AlphaMediaPlayer.com
Hershey Audio: ♫ Fox Sports 1460 | Harrisburg – All Sports. All the Time. (iheart.com)
NHL Network (Game 1-2, 4-5, 7)
FOX 43 (Games 3-4 Locally – Hershey, PA)
FOX43.2 Antenna TV (Games 1-2, 5-7, locally – Hershey, PA)
Monumental Sports Network (Washington, D.C. market)
AHL TV
Coachella Valley TV Schedule:
