Calder Cup Finals Game 4: Hershey Bears vs. Manitoba Moose

Without any NHL hockey tonight, it doesn’t mean that we are bereft of playoff action.  Game 4 of the Calder Cup Finals was underway this evening in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  The Bears won the game 2-1 and took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.  Manitoba is seeking to become the 11th team in AHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.

Both teams are playing very well (Hershey clearly more so than Manitoba) and this bodes well for the Canucks and Capitals.  Illegalcurve’s Richard and Kyle were at Game 2 in Winnipeg and gave some assessments of the young guns in the farm system for both teams.

Obviously the Caps brass is interested as Tarik El-Bashir reported in the Washington Post after Hershey’s game 4 victory:

Washington Capitals General Manager George McPhee, Coach Bruce Boudreau and three of the organization’s pro scouts were there on business. They sat high above the ice, diligently dissecting the players in the maroon and white uniforms, discussing who among them is ready to make the jump to the big leagues.

Could one, maybe two, be replaced from within the organization, by a Bear? McPhee hopes to know the answer after evaluating Games 3-5 of the series against the Manitoba Moose in Hershey this week. Hershey took a 3-1 series lead with a 2-1 victory Sunday night.

“Go back and look at the last five Calder Cup championship teams,” Boudreau said. “Then look at how many of those players are in the NHL now. You’ll see that there are always some. This is the second-best league in the world, so there’s got to be good players. We don’t want to overlook them.”

For complete story, click here.

And finally here is a video from Wheeler and Hal (Wpg radio personalities) who made the trek down to Hershey, PA for Game 3.  They give you an inside look at what people in Hershey know about the competition, a glimpse at the Hershey Arena and the chance to see the atmosphere at an AHL Calder Cup Final game.