HERSHEY, Pa. — The Hershey Bears have posted the best winning percentage in franchise history and just eliminated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in four games. Eleven returning players from the 2023 Calder Cup championship squad could see action in this year's playoff run.
Even with so many familiar names and faces back, this year's team has its own identity.
"The similarity is that we are all very close in the dressing room, which is great," explained Head Coach Todd Nelson. "I think we are coming together as a group and it's the perfect time to do so. The difference is that last year, we were more of a forechecking team, blue collar. This year's team, we are pretty good off the rush and we're pretty dynamic offensively. Last year, we had to generate 40 shots to get three or four goals. This year, we had 16 or 20 shots and we score four."
The Bears beat Lehigh Valley three out of the four games, outscoring them 12-7. They begin the Atlantic Division Finals at home in Game 1 against Hartford.
"I like the moxie of our team, the makeup," said Bears Captain Dylan McIlrath. "In Game 3, we go down right away, we score, we down again and we score. That's the kind of thing we can do this year. Last year, it seemed kind of hard to get those goals. But now we have that young skill throughout our lineup that can help us."
Game 1 is Thursday at 7 p.m. in GIANT Center with Game 2 also at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. The best-of-five series with the Wolf Pack then shifts to Hartford for Game 3 on Wednesday, May 22.