Congratulations to the
Hershey Bears, AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, for capturing the Calder Cup, Champions of the AHL. It is the 11th Cup in Hershey's storied history.
The Bears defeated the Texas Stars 4-0 at Giant Center in Chocolate Town Monday night, earning their second consecutive AHL Championship, four games to two. D Patrick McNeill scored twice, pacing the Bears.
Hershey dropped the first two games of the series in Hershey, before winning four straight to take the title.
Chris Bourque was named playoff MVP. The same Chris Bourque that was the Capitals final cut from their opening day roster, briefly played in the Pittsburgh organization, and returned to Hershey to help captain Brian Helmer and the rest of the Bears to a 60-win, record breaking regular season.
Bourque’s 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) were tied for the most of any skater in the playoffs.
Michal Neuvirth was the winning goalie, and John Carlson and Karl Alzner both had goals in game six, leading the Bears to victory.
Neuvirth was tremendous for the Bears in the playoff run, posting a 14-4 mark with a shutout, a 2.07 GAA and a .920 save pct.
Congratulations to the Bears, coach Mark French, and the entire Washington Capitals organization on back-to-back Calder Cups!