Every hockey player has dreamed of giving their team a title by scoring in the seventh game of an overtime final: Mike Vecchione did it Wednesday in Palm Desert and the Hershey Bears a 3-2 win over Coachella Valley brought Firebirds, but most importantly, the Calder Cup, symbol of American League (AHL) supremacy.
The school club of the Washington Capitals thus took the title of the series in seven games at the expense of the Seattle Kraken. For Hershey, it is Hershey’s 12th championship since the trophy began to be awarded in 1937-38, marking a high point on the circuit.
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When Vecchione settled the debate, using a scrum in front of the opposition net to defeat goalkeeper Joey Daccord in overtime with less than four minutes to go, Quebec’s Hendrix Lapierre was in charge of his side’s triumph. After a goal from teammate Connor McMichael, he leveled the game in the second period by deflecting a shot from Vincent Iorio.
In fact, Lapierre did a great job for the Bears in the 2023 playoffs. The 22nd pick in the 2020 National League Draft played 20 games, recording three goals and as many assists. It was Hunter Shepard, who made 45 saves in Wednesday’s win, who received the Jack A. Butterfield trophy, awarded to the playoff’s Most Valuable Player.
20 games, 3 shutdowns, 1 MVP.
Hayley Moore, American Hockey League vice president of hockey operations, presents Hunter Shepard with the Jack A. Butterfield trophy #CalderCup Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs 🏆 pic.twitter.com/4jbTlaZsaH
—American Hockey League (@TheAHL) June 22, 2023
One of the unlucky finalists was young Shane Wright, who was eliminated in the final. The fourth pick of the 2022 auction has had a quiet postseason on offense, recording two goals and seven assists in 24 games. In his last three duels he kept himself in check.
Hershey finished second in the East Division with 97 points. Recall that the Laval Rocket struggled to qualify in the North Division before losing their two first-round games to the Utica Comets.