Bears Roar to Playoffs: Work to be Done
Light the lamp! The Chocolate and White have punched their ticket to the Calder Cup Playoffs. Yes, on March 11th before anyone has time to consume any green beverages.
That’s good right? Absolutely.
The defending Calder Cup Champions are on cruise control with no work to be done. Todd Nelson’s club currently has a .772 points percentage and a 13-point lead on Providence for the top spot in the Atlantic. It has been an historic season in Chocolatetown as the Bears own a league-best
42-11-0-4 mark, which is good for 88 points. That’s ten points better than any other AHL club.
As I said there is little to be done. Wrong, there is plenty of work left to do in the last quarter of the season.
The NHL trade deadline is in the past and you can see the state of the Bears and Capitals here in an excellent piece by Chocolate Hockey’s Nate Temple.
This weekend Hershey got back to their winning ways Saturday in Charlotte with a 3-2 victory as the Den welcomed recent deadline addition Matthew Phillips in his debut as he added two points in the win. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Hershey as the Bears offense was stuck in neutral as they waded through some injuries and roster moves.
Back to the “work still to be done” mindset, as we close out the regular season. Recently speaking with coach Nelson after the Bears last home game against Utica he was asked, what carrots are out there for the team to work towards? His response makes it clear there are still plates on the table yet to be cleared.
“Right now, like with the group we have, there’s not much motivation [that] has go into it,” said Nelson. “We have players that are out, players that are having a chance to play higher up in the lineup in different spots. And so that’s just motivational for them.”
Some of the players, Frank, Dubé, Sutter, that Nelson referenced were back in the line-up this past weekend in Charlotte and with it the results and firepower showed.
Now what did this past week show and what can we expect going forward for the remainder of the regular season regarding the line-up?
I expect to see some more moves up and down between Washington and Hershey in the home stretch, and that allows Nelson to address the “work” he mentioned and tinker with combinations so that no matter what happens going forward, Hershey is prepared for any scenario.
“You know, you can’t replace Ethan Frank. You can’t replace Dubé, you know, those guys are elite snipers in this league. You talk about Lapierre, you know, Miro,” Nelson said. “It is a bit of a reality check.”
The thought of not having one of those guys in a Bears sweater for a playoff run is one that Hershey fans hope remains a far outlier of possibilities as they look to close strong and chase another Calder Cup.
With that being said, Nelson won’t be phased with anything thrown his way regarding the line-up. Right now, he has the luxury in the standings to put guys in a place to challenge them while at the same time finding extra combinations and pairs. Asked if he enjoys that part of the chess match and searching for the right combination? Nelson’s answer is of no surprise.
“Well, that’s the fun part of coaching, that’s what it is to coach,” Nelson quipped.
“You got to figure out ways to get two points, doesn’t matter who you have the lineup, or what talent you have in the lineup.”
Expanding on the point of motivation till the end of the regular season, here is what Nelson said regarding his club.
“This is a grind. You’re going to see the next couple of weeks. We just have to get through the next couple of weeks here. Because then once you get into third week of March, now everybody starts thinking about playoffs and gets excited and everybody ramps up their game.”
I think it is safe to say everyone around the Bears is excited for what lies ahead.
Hershey has 15 games left in the regular season, which concludes on April 20.
Photos: Hershey Bears / Tori Hartman
