The Hershey Bears’ road to a three-peat is officially underway.
Hershey clinched a spot in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 5-2 win on Sunday against the Chicago Wolves, becoming the first team in the AHL to earn a spot in the postseason this spring. The Bears will look to become the second team in AHL history to win the Calder Cup three years in a row and the first since the 1960-62 Springfield Indians.
This year’s Bears clinched their spot just six days later than last year’s Bears team. Thanks to their 37-15-6 record, which sees them 23 points ahead of the seventh-place Hartford Wolf Pack in the Atlantic Division, the Bears have secured a spot with 14 games remaining on their regular-season schedule. The top six finishers in the division will each qualify for the playoffs.
Under the direction of head coach Todd Nelson, the Bears will try to win the franchise’s 14th championship in their 72nd all-time postseason appearance. Hershey has seven more championships than the next active AHL team, the Rochester Americans (6).
Hershey is again led by a mix of both veteran and young players. Ivan Miroshnichenko leads all active Bears in goals (18), Ethan Bear leads them in total points (40), and Alex Limoges has been their most productive point-scoring forward overall (37). Hendrix Lapierre, last year’s playoff MVP, also has 20 points (4g, 16a) in 22 games.
Ethen Frank, who has 20 goals in the AHL this year, won’t be eligible to play in the postseason for the Bears after the Washington Capitals opted not to send him down at the trade deadline.
Hunter Shepard (21-9-2) and Clay Stevenson (15-6-4) have been the Bears’ tandem in net. Shepard has been Hershey’s number-one goaltender in their back-to-back Cup wins, taking home AHL playoff MVP honors in 2023.
.@TheHersheyBears are the first of many teams to clinch a spot in the 2025 #CalderCup Playoffs🧸🌟 pic.twitter.com/P1puexKOAJ
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) March 16, 2025
Hershey is currently on a franchise record long 10-game road trip and have posted a 4-0-1 record through the halfway point. Their next game at home at Giant Center will come on March 30 against the Utica Comets.