May 22, 2010
The BEARS will try to advance to the club’s fourth Calder Cup Final in the last five years Saturday night, as the Manchester Monarchs come to town for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. HERSHEY leads the series three games to two, and has two chances this weekend to move on to face either Hamilton or Texas in the chase for the team’s 11th Calder Cup championship. Faceoff Saturday is 7:00 p.m.
Francois Bouchard scored the game-winning goal in overtime Thursday, propelling the BEARS to a 3-2 overtime victory over Manchester in Game 5. HERSHEY, after dropping Game 3 and Game 4 in New Hampshire, trailed on two different occasions in the third period. Kyle Wilson tied the game at 1-1 with less than 10 minutes left in regulation, and Chris Bourque picked up the game-tying goal in the game’s final minute of regulation. The overtime win was HERSHEY’S sixth of the 2010 Calder Cup playoffs, tying an AHL record for the most OT wins in a single playoff year. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth won his ninth game of the playoffs, making several key saves throughout the game. The BEARS enter play Saturday needing just one win to advance to the 2010 Calder Cup Finals, which would be the team’s fourth appearance in the championship round in the last five years.
HERSHEY’S win in Game 5 in Manchester was the 57th Calder Cup playoff win for HERSHEY since the beginning of the 2006 postseason. The BEARS won 16 games in 2006, 13 in 2007, 1 in 2008, 16 more in 2009 and have won 11 already this postseason.
The Monarchs enter Game 6 trying to win two games at
Giant Center to advance to the club’s first ever Calder Cup Final. Prior to a win in Game 3, Manchester had never even won a game in a Conference Final, and only advanced to the third round in 2007. The Monarchs were swept by Bruce Boudreau’s BEARS that season in four straight. Defenseman Jacob Muzzin scored his first professional goal late in the third period in Game 5, giving the Monarchs at the time a 2-1 lead. Muzzin played in just game for Manchester during the regular season, coming from the Ontario Hockey League. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier lost his fifth game of the playoffs Thursday in Game 5, and his third to HERSHEY in five tries. Bud Holloway scored his seventh goal of the playoffs in Game 5 Thursday, remarkably the first time that a goal of his was not a game-winning strike. Defenseman Slava Voynov, who played for Manchester in Game 1 and Game 2 here at
Giant Center, has been out of the lineup due to injury since Game 3. Monarchs head coach Mark Morris is 2-6 lifetime against HERSHEY in postseason play.
The Hamilton Bulldogs, who won the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, now suddenly have a problem. Rookie sensation Jamie Benn scored both goals Friday night, including the game-winner in sudden death overtime, and the Texas Stars defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 in Game 4. The win evened the series at two games apiece, with Game 5 coming up Saturday night at Cedar Park Center in the suburbs of Austin, Texas. A crowd of 6,245 watched Friday’s Game 4, with the Stars coming from two games down to tie the series. The game-winning goal for Benn was his fourth of the 2010 postseason. Game 6 of the best-of-seven will be Monday night at Copps Coliseum, with a potential seventh game slated for Wednesday night in southern Ontario. The Stars are in its inaugural season, while Hamilton has twice provided the opposition for HERSHEY in the Calder Cup Finals (1997 and 2007).
Saturday’s Game 6 can be heard via the BEARS Radio Network (Soft Rock 100.1 WQIC and www.Sportsjuice.com) beginning at 6:40 p.m. John Walton, Ed Coffey and Jim Jones have the call of the game from
Giant Center. A limited amount of tickets remain for Saturday’s game. Call the
Giant Center box office for the latest tickets information at (717) 508-BEAR. All fans attending Game 6 will receive a BEARS branded Fan Clapper courtesy of The Hershey Company.
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