SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The final game of the 2022-23 hockey season will be played in Palm Desert, Calif., on Wednesday night, when the Coachella Valley Firebirds take on the Hershey Bears in Game 7 of the 2023 Calder Cup Finals.
It will be just the 12th Game 7 in Calder Cup Finals history, and the first since 2018.
The home team has won each of the first six games of the series, with the Firebirds outscoring Hershey 14-2 in three games at Acrisure Arena and the Bears taking three one-goal decisions back at Giant Center – including two in overtime. Coachella Valley forced the deciding game with a 5-2 victory on Monday.
Head coach Dan Bylsma’s Firebirds will be setting league records on Wednesday when they play their 26th game of the postseason and their fourth winner-take-all contest. The Firebirds are already 5-0 when facing elimination, and carry a seven-game home winning streak into Game 7. Coachella Valley, the top development affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, is trying to win the Calder Cup in its inaugural season, while Bylsma is bidding to become the ninth head coach ever to win both the Calder Cup and the Stanley Cup.
The Firebirds have been led on the ice this postseason by Kole Lind, whose 21 assists and 30 points lead the league; captain Max McCormick, who has scored a league-high 13 playoff goals; and rookie defenseman Ryker Evans, with 24 points in 25 games. Fourth-year pro Joey Daccord has played every minute of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the Firebirds and shows a 2.21 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. Coachella Valley’s roster also features 2022-23 AHL rookie of the year Tye Kartye, who has eight points in 17 games since returning to the Firebirds from Seattle, and Shane Wright, the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft who has nine points in 23 playoff games.
The Bears are looking for their league-record 12th Calder Cup championship, and their fourth since becoming the top development affiliate of the Washington Capitals in 2005-06. Hershey is guided by head coach Todd Nelson, who is already one of three people in history to win the Calder Cup as a player (Portland, 1994), as an assistant coach (Chicago, 2008) and a head coach (Grand Rapids, 2017).
The Bears have gotten balanced scoring throughout their playoff run: forward Joe Snively and defenseman Logan Day share the team lead with 14 points each, and no Hershey skater has scored more than five goals. In net, Hunter Shepard has started all 19 playoff games for the Bears and has a 13-6 record with a 2.32 GAA, a .910 save percentage and three shutouts.
Game 7 of the 2023 Calder Cup Finals – the last game of the 2022-23 hockey season anywhere in the world – will be streamed for free on AHLTV, with coverage beginning Wednesday evening at 10 ET/7 PT. The game will also be televised live on NHL Network, NBC Sports Washington and Root Sports Northwest, and can be heard on NHL Network Radio (SiriusXM 91).
In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.
Winner-Take-All Games – Calder Cup Finals
| Game 7 | June 14, 2018 at Toronto | Toronto Marlies 6, Texas Stars 1 |
| Game 7 | June 12, 2003 at Hamilton | Houston Aeros 3, Hamilton Bulldogs 0 |
| Game 7 | June 13, 1996 at Rochester | Rochester Americans 2, Portland Pirates 1 |
| Game 7 | May 29, 1992 at St. John’s | Adirondack Red Wings 5, St. John’s Maple Leafs 2 |
| Game 7 | May 23, 1987 at Sherbrooke | Rochester Americans 4, Sherbrooke Canadiens 2 |
| Game 7 | May 1, 1963 at Buffalo | Buffalo Bisons 6, Hershey Bears 2 |
| Game 7 | April 16, 1953 at Cleveland | Cleveland Barons 1, Pittsburgh Hornets 0 (OT)* |
| Game 7 | April 21, 1951 at Cleveland | Cleveland Barons 3, Pittsburgh Hornets 1 |
| Game 7 | April 17, 1949 at Providence | Providence Reds 4, Hershey Bears 2 |
| Game 7 | April 15, 1947 at Hershey | Hershey Bears 5, Pittsburgh Hornets 0 |
| Game 7 | April 14, 1946 at Buffalo | Buffalo Bisons 5, Cleveland Barons 2 |
| Game 5 | April 5, 1942 at Indianapolis | Indianapolis Capitals 8, Hershey Bears 3 |
| Game 5 | April 10, 1941 at Cleveland | Cleveland Barons 3, Hershey Bears 2 (OT)* |
| *overtime period was not sudden-death | ||
