Matt Strome scored the overtime winner to clinch the Calder Cup for the Bears
The Hershey Bears won a Game 6 OT thriller over the Coachella Valley Firebirds Monday night to clinch their second straight Calder Cup.
The hero of the night, Matt Strome scored just over a minute into the extra frame to capture the Bears' 13th Calder Cup in franchise history.
Game Recap
The first period of Game 6 was a tight one from both sides. With both teams hoping to gain the early advantage, it was the Firebirds who broke through first.
On the first shot of the game for either side, Ryan Winterton notched his sixth of the playoffs to put the Firebirds up early.
With the goal waking up both sides, both teams exchanged chances following the goal.
Just over four minutes into the first, Connor Carrick took an interference penalty to put the Bears on the power play.
Taking advantage of the opportunity at hand, the Bears were able to get the puck on net and eventually beat Chris Driedger just under a minute and a half into the power play on Pierrick Dube's fifth of the playoffs.
Each side continued to exchange shots as the period began to wind down. It looked as though both teams would enter the intermission tied but Hendrix Lapierre scored his seventh of the playoffs with 36 seconds left to put the Bears up.
The Bears would take the 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
While it looked as though the Bears had gained the momentum, the Firebirds came out strong again in the second period. Identical to the first, Marian Studenic scored on the first shot of the period for either side to tie the game for Coachella Valley.
The next six minutes following the goal were quiet, with only two shots hitting the net, but it was the Firebirds who were able to breakthrough with the go-ahead goal off Winterton's second of the night.
In a period that only saw 11 shots, the Bears were able to tie the game on Dube's second of the night with just over six minutes left in the frame and it remained that way into the second intermission.
Coming out into the third with the same energy as the previous two periods, the Firebirds dictated the pace of play. Through the first five minutes, Coachella Valley registered five shots on net and held the Bears to zero.
It looked as through the Firebirds were on the verge of taking the lead but that momentum changed as Cameron Hughes took a high-sticking penalty to give the Bears life.
While the Bears didn't score while up a man, they were able to take the lead off Dube's third of the night just over a minute after the power play ended.
After the Bears scored to take the lead, there were no shots on net for the next eight minutes of play. With just over three minutes left in the third, it looked as though the Bears were going to take it in regulation but the Firebirds had another idea.
On their first shot in over 11 minutes of play, Cale Fleury stepped up and scored his fifth of the playoffs to keep the Firebirds' season alive. In a heart-pounding final few minutes, both teams only registered a shot on goal and this game needed overtime.
Just over a minute into the overtime frame, the Firebirds had the puck and attempted the clear it from their zone but weren't able too. With the puck bouncing near the blue line, the Bears kept it in where the puck found its way to Matt Strome in the middle of the slot.
With time to unleash his shot, Strome was able to beat Driedger 1:06 into the extra frame to clinch the Calder Cup for the Bears.
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