WINNIPEG, MAN. – It’s never a good thing to upset bears, be it in the woods or on the ice. Just ask the Manitoba Moose.
After failing to win its AHL-record tenth Calder Cup at home, the Hershey Bears rode a three goal first period outburst to a 4-1 victory over the Moose Friday night at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg to secure the Cup. The four games to two series win matched the last Bears’ title run in 2006 when they defeated the Milwaukee Admirals in six games, clinching the Cup on the road.
“The Moose played a heck of a series. I’m just glad we got it done,” said Hershey captain Bryan Helmer.
With their backs against the wall for the second straight game, the Moose badly needed to be the aggressors from the outset. Just over a minute into the game, Jason Krog got himself a good look at the Hershey net but Bears goalie Michal Neuvirth flashed out his catching glove to make the save. It would be a long while before Manitoba had another solid scoring chance and by that time, Hershey had taken control.
The Bears began the onslaught at the 3:56 mark of the stanza. Kyle Wilson and Chris Bourque combined to get a shot on Moose netminder Cory Schneider who made the original save. Out of the traffic in front, Andrew Gordon dug out the puck and flipped it up and over Schneider to put the Bears in front.
Less than three minutes later, the line combo of Bourque, Gordon and Wilson went back to work and made it pay off for a second tally. Wilson carried the puck into the slot and laid a drop pass back to Bourque. Bourque, the son of former NHL all-everything defenseman Raymond Bourque, teed up a laser shot that clipped a Manitoba defender and beat Schneider at 6:10 to make it a two goal lead for the visitors.
Hershey had scored two goals in five shots on net but it didn’t seem to be enough. The Bears kept working hard and just past the mid point of the period, the lead grew larger. Bears’ super sniper Alexandre Giroux stole the puck in the neutral zone and zoomed out for a clean breakaway. He got in, made a move and slid a backhander between Schneider’s left skate and the post for his 15th goal of the playoffs and a 3-0 Hershey lead at the 11:16 mark. By the end of the period, Hershey had doubled Manitoba in shots at 15-7 and held that three goal lead.
“We came out and I think we sort of watched a bit. I don’t know if it was nerves from the full building or whatever but we weren’t moving the puck quick enough,” Krog said. “They’re (Hershey) the best transition team we’ve played all year. If you give them time and space, they’re going to burn you.”
A carry-over penalty and a too many men on the ice call against the Moose allowed the Bears to continue their domination of the game in the second period. Schneider continued to keep Hershey at bay. Finally, the Moose broke through at the 11:03 point of the stanza. With a delayed penalty coming against the Bears, Shaun Heshka got the puck to Cody Hodgson who in turn fed Mario Bliznak who had made his way to the slot. Bliznak’s shot whistled past Neuvirth to cut the lead to two and energize both the home crowd and the Moose team.
The game then opened up a little as both squads knew the next goal would be crucial. In one furious sequence, Neuvirth made a save at one end and seconds later Schneider did the same on the opposite side. Despite the increase in pressure, Manitoba wasn’t able to get any closer before the second intermission.
“Hershey came out on their toes and they came after us and they got us down by two or three goals before we knew it. That’s a tough hole to dig out of,” Moose assistant coach Jay Wells said. “We worked real hard. We had lots of chances but we just couldn’t seem to get the puck past their goaltender.”
The third period couldn’t pass fast enough for Hershey while it went too quickly for Manitoba. Although the Moose had more shots through the period, Neuvirth was on his game, standing up to everything thrown his way. For his part, Schneider was just as good, giving his team a chance to get back into the game. A late penalty to Hershey’s Jay Beagle gave the Moose the opportunity they needed but the Bears’ defense stiffened and kept Manitoba’s power play from getting any solid chances.
As time ticked away, the Moose pushed harder and harder but couldn’t get a sniff at the net. Keith Aucoin put the game out of reach with an empty net score with 21 seconds remaining, setting off a celebration on the Hershey bench and back home in Pennsylvania. The victory was capped off when Neuvirth was named the winner of the Jack A. Butterfield trophy as playoff MVP.
“We came in with a goal and we did it. They came in our barn and took one away from us and we came back here strong as a group,” Giroux, who led the AHL in playoff scoring with 28 points, said. “Hockey’s a team effort. Tonight we won as a team.”
Game notes…The six game victory for the Bears ended a perfectly symmetric playoff run as they won series in four (Philadelphia), seven (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) and five (Providence) games prior to the finals…Giroux’s first period goal set a new franchise record for goals in a playoff season that had previously been held by Kris Beech at 14. He finished the 2008-2009 regular season and playoffs with a combined total of 75 goals…As a thank you to the loyal Hershey fans, the team opened the Giant Center for a huge watch party, playing the television broadcast on the big screens on the scoreboard…Bears’ coach Bob Woods is now the first member of the Hershey franchise to win a Calder Cup as a player, an assistant coach and a head coach…Krog led the Moose in playoff scoring with 23 points…The goaltending battle was a classic as Neuvirth finished the post season with a 16-6 record and a 1.92 goals against average while Schneider posted a 14-7 mark with a 2.15 goals against average.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
Catch all the playoffs at Intotheboards.net
You must be logged in to post a comment.