HERSHEY, Pa. — The Hershey Bears (11-5) scored the club's first win of the 2023 Calder Cup Finals, striking for a 5-4 overtime victory in Game 3 of the championship series on Tuesday night at GIANT Center. Riley Sutter scored the winning goal at 13:34 of the extra session in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,580 to cut Coachella Valley's series lead to 2-1.
After being blanked in both Game 1 and 2 on the road, Hershey finally solved Coachella Valley goaltender Joey Daccord at 13:24 of the first period. Hershey's Ethen Frank scored his first goal of the playoffs on the power play, snapping a wrist shot from the left circle to make it 1-0. Sam Anas and Logan Day assisted.
After the Firebirds tied the game late in the first period, Hershey responded with a pair of goals in the middle frame. Joe Snively scored at 1:05, executing on a give-and-go with Garrett Pilon. It was Snivley's second tally of the playoffs and his first since Apr. 29 in Game 2 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals versus Charlotte.
Anas made it 3-1 Hershey on the power play at 17:18. His shot from the slot beat Daccord and hit the back bar and came out of the net quickly. The goal was initially washed out on the ice, but video review confirmed the tally, as assisted by Frank and Snively.
The Firebirds mounted a furious push in the third period, outshooting Hershey 16-9. Carsen Twarynski scored at 6:33 to make it a one-goal game, but Garrett Pilon scored for Hershey less than a minute later to make it 4-2 for the Chocolate and White. The forward snapped a shot over Daccord's glove with the lone assist to Logan Day.
Hershey's lead was not safe as the Firebirds got two goals from Cameron Hughes in the closing minutes to tie the game, 4-4. Hughes first scored on the power play, swatting home his third try past Hershey goaltender Hunter Shepard to make it 4-3 at 15:26.
With Daccord pulled for the extra attacker, Hughes scored again on the backdoor off a spinning, backhand feed from Kole Lind with just under 51 seconds to play to make it 4-4 and force overtime.
In the extra session, Hershey bent, but did not break. Ryker Evans had the Firebirds' best chance of overtime, hitting the goal post. Minutes later, Sutter played hero for Hershey. Off a forecheck from the fourth line, Beck Malenstyn threw a hit that popped the puck free. Mason Morelli's shot was stopped by Daccord, but Sutter swatted the rebound up and over the netminder to send GIANT Center into a frenzy.
Shots finished 37-30 Coachella Valley. Shepard stopped 33 shots to earn the victory while Daccord went 25-for-30 in the loss. The Bears were 2-for-4 on the power play while the Firebirds finished 2-for-3.
The win was Hershey's first in the Calder Cup Finals since June 14, 2010 when the Bears claimed the 2010 Calder Cup with a Game 6 win over the Texas Stars.
The Bears’ 2023 playoffs, presented by Penn State Health, continues for Game 4 at GIANT Center on Thursday, June 15 at 7 p.m.
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