Luke Brown for Chocolate Hockey It is officially playoff time for the AHL as many teams look to battle through the postseason for a chance to do what the Bears did last season, and hoist the AHL’s ultimate prize, the…
Over three weeks ago you could say the Hershey Bears locker room was heavy after a defeat to Utica. Head coach Todd Nelson, who always seems to know what moves to make called a team meeting. At the time Nelly said he just wanted to “nip a few things in the bud” before this team got to the playoffs.
Some coaches may hesitate to do that to a team that is cruising on their way to a number one seed in the East, and the Atlantic Division title.
One of the most common songs fans hear at sporting events is “Final Countdown” by Europe, and that is the theme for the Washington Capitals (36-27-9, 81 points) heading into the final 10 games of the season.
The Capitals, for the better part of two months, have embraced the playoff intensity a little earlier than they would’ve liked. Despite this season marked by roller coaster results, the locals find themselves in the second wild card spot following Thursday’s action.
A first place team, with sky high expectations yet when Todd Nelson looked inside his locker room he wasn’t 100% pleased where it’s mindset was heading into Saturday’s game against the Crunch.
“We had a come to Jesus meeting before the game with everybody, even the guys who were not playing, and we just talked about getting ready for playoffs,” said Nelson after the game on Saturday night.
Chris Bourque is a really good hockey player. He’s also been consistently one of the best Calder Cup Playoff performers in the history of the league. That is why on Sunday afternoon in Providence he became the American Hockey League’s all-time Calder Cup playoff assist leader with 81 helpers.
The record we all thought was originally broken last Sunday became reality when Bourque fed defenseman Madison Bowey a pass in overtime. Bowey sent home a wrister from the point to give Hershey a 3-2 series lead over the Providence Bruins.
