The Bears will face off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds
The Hershey Bears defeated the Cleveland Monsters Wednesday in dramatic Game 7 fashion to advance to the Calder Cup Finals.
After initially taking Games 1-3, the Bears had a massive stranglehold on the series and it looked as though they would have an easy path to the finals but the Monsters had another idea in mind.
The Monsters battled back, taking Games 4-6 to tie the series and force a deciding Game 7 - the greatest event in all of sports.
Game Recap
With both teams looking to come out and set the tone early, it was the Bears that were able to do so early on, registering five shots in the first five minutes.
As the period progressed, the Monsters started to push back a little but no team could jumpstart the score.
With the first period beginning to wind down, Riley Sutter took a tripping penalty to put the Monsters on the power play and they were able to take advantage as Trey Fix-Wolansky marked his third of the playoffs with less than a minute to go.
Although it looked as though Cleveland would take the momentum into the first intermission, the Bears answered right back with a goal of their own 39 seconds later thanks to Logan Day and the first period ended all tied up.
As the second period started, it looked as though the Bears had gotten momentum to stick with them.
Brendan Gaunce took an early hooking penalty just over three minutes into the period and the Bears only needed a minute of power play time to take the lead on Pierrick Dubé's third of the playoffs.
Both teams exchanged scoring chances throughout the remainder of the period but both goalies stood strong.
Entering a do or die third period, the Monsters knew they needed a response if they hoped to keep their season alive. Registering four shots in the first two minutes, they were able to create pressure on the Bears.
With a strong initial push, Cleveland was awarded with an early power play on a Hendrix Lapierre tripping penalty but they weren't able to capitalize.
Realizing the pressure was mounting, the Monsters started to play with sheer determination and kept the Bears to just one shot in over ten minutes of action.
In keeping the puck out of their end, Cleveland also amassed an impressive 9-1 shot advantage in those ten minutes of action but could still not crack Hunter Shepard.
Faced with a mere six minutes left on the clock, the Monsters were finally able to get one past Shepard as James Malatesta came up clutch.
Although the Monsters led the period with a shot advantage of 17-6, both teams headed to overtime with their seasons on the line.
With overtime underway, it looked as though the Monsters had a real chance of advancing. They registered six shots in the first two and a half minutes and held the Bears to zero. With momentum looking like it was on their side, Jake Gaudet took an untimely delay of game penalty to put the Bears up a man.
A nerve-wracking two minutes, the Monsters killed it off but the penalty took the wind out of their sails and Garrett Roe played hero for the Bears as he scored the series-winner just over thirty seconds after the penalty ended.
The Bears are now set to face off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a rematch of last year's Calder Cup Finals.
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