After a day in the air, the Hershey Bears were back on the ice.
Once the Bears got word early Tuesday morning that they would be facing Coachella Valley in the Calder Cup Finals, they had a travel itinerary in place, featuring a cross-country charter flight to California. Head coach Todd Nelson joked at practice this week that his club had graduated to flights following three playoff rounds of bus travel in the more geographically compact Eastern Conference.
After settling in, they took their first spin at Acrisure Arena on Wednesday afternoon, and Nelson liked what he saw.
“It was good,” Nelson told reporters afterward. “We had good energy. We just got them up and down the ice. Just did some wall work just to see how the boards were and that. I thought the guys had really good energy, but it was a long day [Tuesday], that’s for sure.”
Nelson has had several busy days since the Bears advanced past Rochester last Friday night. Not knowing whether his team would be facing the Firebirds or Milwaukee, they had to do pre-scout work on both teams.
“It’s kind of like cramming for a test,” Nelson said, “trying to figure out how the other team plays. We did our homework. They’re doing theirs. You don’t know their tendencies, but we do know that we’re playing a very good hockey team and a well-coached one at that.
“I don’t really see any holes in their personnel. They’re a deep hockey team just like we are, and so it doesn’t matter what line they throw out there. They get contributions from everybody there. Their defense joins the rush, and they play a fast system. It’s going to be a big challenge for our hockey team.”
Said Bears defenseman Aaron Ness, “They’ve got a heck of a hockey team over there top to bottom. Great goaltending, great coaching staff. It’s a heck of an organization, and we know that it’s going to be really hard games and a really hard matchup. It’s another opportunity for us to show we can do.”
The Firebirds do bear several similarities to the Americans, who fell to Hershey in six games in the conference finals. They possess that active defense corps, they’re fast, and they’re dangerous off the transition as well.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re playing above the puck like we talked about [against Rochester] and playing stingy defense,” Nelson added.
“It’s just gonna be a lot of fun,” Nelson said, “and I can’t express more than just enjoy the moment.”
Playing for a Calder Cup has become something of a tradition for Firebirds forward Andrew Poturalski.
The veteran playmaker won his first Calder Cup back in 2019 with Charlotte. He was back last season to captain Chicago to another title. Now he could add a third Calder Cup ring to his growing collection this time with the Firebirds.
“We cannot be more excited to be out here,” Poturalski told reporters following practice Wednesday. “The support from the Valley has been incredible. This first year has been so fun, and to be in this position we’re super-lucky. We’ve worked hard for it, and we’re going to be ready for the challenge.”
Poturalski returned for Game 3 of the team’s Pacific Division final series against Calgary after being out of the lineup for nearly four months following surgery for a lower-body injury, but he has been through these long playoff runs before. Coachella Valley has had to eliminate Tucson, Colorado, Calgary and Milwaukee to reach this point.
“I’d say we’re battle-tested,” Poturalski said. “We’ve survived four elimination games. I think that that definitely goes a long way. The playoffs are just about ups and downs. It’s a roller coaster. Everything’s not going to go your way. Every game’s not going to go your way.”
Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma is four wins away from the Calder Cup once again. He was a finalist as a player in 1994 with Moncton and was an assistant coach when Wilkes-Barre/Scranton reached this stage in 2008. Since then he has guided a Stanley Cup championship with Pittsburgh in 2009, led the United States in the 2014 Winter Olympics, and served three times as an assistant coach at the IIHF World Championship.
“It’s something you work for all year,” Bylsma said. “It’s something you try to build all year for, and we’ve gotten the opportunity to do it. It’s the best time of year to be playing hockey.”
Bylsma is also quite aware of the juxtaposition of his expansion Firebirds meeting the AHL’s senior-most franchise. Hershey entered what was then the International-American Hockey League as a new franchise in 1938. The Firebirds, meanwhile, played their first game eight months ago.
“It kind of feels like that’s how it should be,” Bylsma continued. “We’re a new organization… The Hershey Bears, all the history they have, the championships they’ve won — it kind of feels like how it was meant to be.”
The AHL has announced the on-ice officials selected to work the 2023 Calder Cup Finals.
The referees are Cody Beach (1st Calder Cup Finals), Justin Kea (1st), Morgan MacPhee (1st), Carter Sandlak (2nd) and Brandon Schrader (1st). Linespeople for the series will be Mitchell Hunt (2nd), Ryan Jackson (1st), Justin Johnson (2nd), Dan Kelly (1st) and Joe Mahon (1st).
― with files from Patrick Williams
