PALM DESERT, Calif. — The away stretch for the Hershey Bears continued for Game 4 of the 2024 Calder Cup Finals on Thursday evening.
To even the series, the Bears got the job done and won 3-2 over the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Game 4 remained scoreless for the first 18 minutes of play until solid defensive work and a quick breakout by the Bears jumped Hendrix Lapierre into the neutral zone. Lapierre passed it to Ethen Frank who drove from the right side, releasing a quick shot that got by Chris Driedger to put the Bears up 1-0 into the 1st intermission. The Bears outshot the Firebirds 10-2 in the first period.
The Firebirds came out the gate hot to start the second period, outshooting the Bears 7-4, but a couple of big Hunter Shepard stops kept the Bears lead intact 10 minutes into the second period.
However, the Firebirds were only held back for so long. After some post-whistle pushing, Pierrick Dube and Connor Carrick were sent to the box for offsetting roughing minors.
The Firebirds took advantage of the more open 4-on-4 space, as Marian Studenic picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and pushed the puck up to Shane Wright. Wright drove to the net from the left side and was able to beat Hunter Shepard, who was sliding across his crease, to even the game 1-1.
The Hershey Bears answered back with two minutes remaining in the second period. Ethen Frank used his speed to get into the offensive zone and offloaded it to Joe Snively. Snively sent a beautiful cross-ice pass to Lapierre on the far post who scored his sixth of the postseason and put the Bears back up 2-1 after two periods of play.
To start the 3rd period, the Firebirds responded just 30 seconds into the frame after Ryker Evans scored a goal from the slot to tie the game back up 2-2.
Under four minutes later, the Bears capitalized on the power play for the first time in five tries after Joe Snively buried a goal to retake the lead 3-2 and secure the win.
The Bears evened the series 2-2 and have guaranteed at least one game back in Hershey on home ice.
Hershey will play Game 5, the final game of the series in Palm Desert, on Saturday, June 22.
2024 Calder Cup Finals TV Schedule | Hershey vs. Coachella Valley
- Game 1 | Coachella Valley wins 4-3
- Game 2 | Hershey wins 5-2
- Game 3 | Coachella Valley wins 6-2
- Game 4 | Hershey wins 3-2
- Game 5 | Saturday, June 22 | 9pm | Palm Desert, CA | FOX43.2 / MNMT
- Game 6 | Monday, June 24 | 7pm | Hershey, PA | FOX43.2 / MNMT
- Game 7* | Wednesday, June 26 | 7pm | Hershey, PA | FOX43.2 / NHL Network / MNMT