Hershey begins their quest to make history

HERSHEY, Pa – On Thursday night, the Hershey Bears begin their quest to not only repeat as Calder Cup champions, but look to do something only one other team in the 75-year history of the AHL, that is win three straight Calder Cups titles. The last time it was done was the Springfield Indians from 1960 to 1962. Hershey and the Charlotte Checkers played eight games against each other during the regular season, and split the season series 4-4. This is Charlotte’s first season ever in the AHL. Prior to moving to North Carolina, the Checkers were the Albany River Rats, but Charlotte already had an established franchise in the ECHL before moving up to the AHL.
The Checkers played 17 seasons in the ECHL and won a Kelly Cup title in 1996. Charlotte finished the regular season in third place in the East Division finishing with 97 points and a record of 44-27-2-7. Hershey finished second in the East with 100 points and a record of 46-26-3-5. It was the eighth time in franchise history that the team hit the 100 mark in points and third in a row. Carolina Hurricanes prospect Zach Boychuk led the Checkers in scoring with 65 points while Chris Terry led the team in goals with 34. Charlotte finished the regular season tied with Norfolk for the most goals scored in the East Division (265), but also gave up the most goals (243). The Bears were led in points by Keith Aucoin (72) but Brian Willsie and Kyle Greentree led the team in goals (30). Both teams had nine players overall with 10 or more goals.
On special teams, the Checkers were ranked third on the power play while Hershey was ranked 17^th. The Checkers were ranked 9^th on the PK with Hershey in 10^th.
For the Checkers to win: Charlotte must take advantage of their power play opportunities. If they don’t it will be a quick series, if they do than this should go at least seven games.
For the Bears to win: Stay out of the penalty box. They have the defensive edge in the series so they can’t give Charlotte a reason for hope.
Prediction: Hershey in six games. Both teams will get their share of goals in. It will be an entertaining series and won’t be boring by any stretch. In the end Hershey’s playoff experience should win out. Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com