Max McCormick of the Coachella Valley Firebirds (No. 17) battles for position in front of Lucas Johansen (No. 5) and goaltender Hunter Shepherd (No. 30) of the Hershey Bears in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif. … (photo by Mike Zitek / Coachella Valley Firebirds)
Mike Vecchione of the Hershey Bears scored with 3:41 left in overtime to deny the Coachella Valley Firebirds in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals on Wednesday night.
The Firebirds – the American Hockey League affiliate of the Seattle Kraken – jumped out to a 2-0 lead only to see the Bears claw back even by the end of the second period. Then in the first overtime in a Game 7 in 70 years, it was the Bears that would find the clinching goal in extra time.
A backhand centering pass from Henrik Borgstrom bounced off multiple skates as the puck caromed about in front of the net. It settled in front just enough for Vecchione to snap a shot through goaltender Joey Daccord to give the Bears – the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals – their 12th Calder Cup title in franchise history.
It was the first and only time in the series that the road team emerged victorious. The Firebirds took the first two games of the series at home by a combined 9-0 margin. Hershey answered back with three straight wins at home to take the series lead before Coachella Valley evened the series once more in Monday's Game 6 back in Palm Desert.
Hunter Shepherd made 45 saves on 47 shots on the night for the Bears as he was named the Jack A. Butterfield award winner as MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
It was a disappointing end to an otherwise tremendous inaugural campaign for the Kraken's top farm team. Ten of the 22 players dressed for the Firebirds in Game 7 have appeared in at least one game for the Kraken at the NHL level.
The Calder Cup Finals represented a matchup of the AHL's oldest franchise against its newest.
Ryker Evans got the Firebirds on the board less than five minutes in to the contest. From behind the goal line, Andrew Poturalski found Evans skating unchecked into the left circle. Evans' shot snuck through traffic just inside the right post to give Coachella Valley a 1-0 lead.
Just 24 seconds into the second period, the Firebirds made it a 2-0 lead. Kole Lind delivered a terrific pass from the right wall across the ice to a waiting Max McCormick as he beat Hunter Shepard clean to extend the advantage.
Hershey took advantage of a tripping penalty from McCormick to get back into the contest. Just over a minute into the ensuing power play, Connor McMichael was able to clean up a rebound of a Mason Morelli chance right in front of the net to cut the Firebirds lead to 2-1 with 6:08 left in the period.
Then just three minutes later, the Bears brought the game back level. With the Firebirds unable to clear their own zone, Vincent Iorio hammered a slap shot from just inside the blue line that Hendrix Lapierre redirected by Joey Daccord to make it a 2-2 game with 2:51 left in the second.
Coachella Valley had to kill off a high-sticking penalty from Jesper Froden and a tripping penalty by Brogan Rafferty to escape the third period unscathed and force overtime. Daccord made a big save with eight minutes left to deny a Garrett Pilon chance and a follow-up bid from Aliaksei Protas.
In overtime, Shepherd delivered a big stop on Tye Kartye on a power play chance to deny a prime chance for the Firebirds.
A pair of McCormick chances were unable to find the net and Daccord had to deliver a big left pad save for Coachella Valley just over six minutes into overtime. A Protas backhand chance just over 10 minutes in deflected off Daccord and the left post and away as both teams had promising chances for the series clinching goal.
Then with a possible second overtime looming on the horizon, Vecchione's goal served as the decisive blow.
It was just the second time in the history of the Calder Cup Finals and the first time in 70 years that the championship was decided by an overtime in Game 7. The Cleveland Barons beat the Pittsburgh Hornets 1-0 in overtime to end the 1952-53 season.