Bears Fall to Firebirds, 4-3, in Game 1 of 2024 Calder Cup Finals; Snively, Häman Aktell, Lapierre Score


Photo: Joe Noyes/NoVa Caps

The Hershey Bears fell to the Coachella Valley Firebirds by a score of 4-3 Friday night at Giant Center in Game 1 of the 2024 Calder Cup Finals. The Firebirds now lead 1-0 in the best-of-seven series.

The Lineup

Joe Snively-Hendrix Lapierre-Ethen Frank
Alex Limoges-Jimmy Huntington-Pierrick Dube
Ivan Miroshnichenko-Garrett Roe-Mike Vecchione
Bogdan Trineyev-Riley Sutter-Henrik Rybinski

Hardy Häman Aktell-Dylan McIlrath
Jake Massie-Chase Priskie
Dmitry Osipov-Logan Day

Shepard
Clay Stevenson

Injuries: Defensemen Lucas Johansen, Vincent Iorio, Aaron Ness, and Jon McDonald


First Period

Just 1:15 into the opening frame, Snively (3) got the Bears on the board for an early 1-0 lead. Frank (4) and Lapierre (12) assisted.

At the 6:34 mark, the Firebirds would tie it up, 1-1, with a shorthanded goal from forward John Hayden.

Forward Ryan Winterton would make it a 2-1 game for Coachella at the 13:52 mark.

At the end of the first, shots on goal were 10-9 in favor of Hershey.


Second Period

Winterton would pot his second of the night to extend the Firebirds’ lead to 3-1 midway through.

Häman Aktell (2) would pull Hershey within one at the 12:51 mark, making it a 3-2 game.

The Firebirds’ lead would be extended, 4-2, with Hayden’s second goal of the game with less than five minutes left.

After forty minutes, the Firebirds led on shots, 20-14.


Third Period

With less than two minutes to go, Lapierre (5) would make it a 4-3 game on a power play.

The Firebirds would hold out for a 4-3 victory and a 1-0 series lead.

Coachella Valley led on total shots, 23-19.

The Bears look to tie the series in Game 2 on Sunday at Giant Center. Monumental Sports Network, NHL Network, and AHL TV will have the coverage beginning at 5 PM ET.

By Della Young

About Della Young

Della Young is an aspiring novelist and screenwriter who earned a BFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University in 2021. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Screenwriting from Regent University and is writing her debut novel. Della comes from a family of big Capitals fans and became inspired to start writing for hockey in 2019. Follow Della on X: @dellayoung





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