HERSHEY, Pa. – Life isn’t always sweet in Hershey. The Washington Capitals AHL affiliate saw its playoff run come to an end in the Atlantic Division Finals Wednesday night, falling 6-3 in Game 3 against the Charlotte Checkers.
The loss eliminated the possibility of a Calder Cup 3-Peat for Hershey, who entered the playoffs as the top team in the AHL Atlantic Division. Just the previous season in 2023-24, the Bears set the AHL record for most single-season wins with 52.
Charlotte, the AHL affiliate of the 2024 Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, outshot Hershey 38-26 on Wednesday night, featuring a dominant second period where the Checkers outshot the Bears 20-2.
“I give Charlotte a lot of credit. They’re a hard team to play against. They pressure you all over the ice,” said Bears head coach Todd Nelson after the game. “But I felt that they executed their game plan better than we did. That’s the bottom line.”
Hershey opened the scoring late in the first with a team-leading fifth goal of the postseason from Bogdan Trineyev on an odd-man rush against Charlotte. Mike Vecchione followed early in the second with a strike from just above the left circle to make it 2-0.
Charlotte answered with three consecutive goals in eight minutes during the second, followed by two more early in the third period, giving them a 5-2 lead. Hershey’s only answer came from a goal by Ivan Miroshnichenko in the third period, which was not enough to combat their multi-goal deficit.
Turnovers were one of the Bear’s biggest liabilities on Wednesday night, with two giveaways leading directly to the Checkers’ early scoring opportunities. But despite inconsistent play from Hershey throughout this series, Charlotte was always recounted as a competitive matchup, earning their second place Atlantic Division spot with 94 season points, only two points behind the Bears.
“That’s probably the best hockey we faced. I think so. They play a good brand of hockey. They play just like their parent club,” Coach Nelson admitted. “The pressure, and like I said, you’ve got to give them credit. The coaching staff did a great job and they were tough to play against, and like I said, they executed.”
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