The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — The Hershey Bears are Calder Cup champions for the ninth time.
Colin Forbes had a goal and an assist and the Bears took the American Hockey League championship with a 5-1 win over Milwaukee on Thursday night.
Hershey, which won three straight to take the series 4-2, scored three first-period goals.
“We kept thinking that after every fast start that we had, they were going to be really great the next game,� Hershey coach Bruce Boudreau said. “So we were more ready.�
In the four games the Bears won, they outscored Milwaukee 13-0 in the first period. In the two games they lost, they were held scoreless in the first 20 minutes.
“They didn’t get quite the great goaltending that they got earlier in the playoffs,� Boudreau said. “That makes a big difference.�
Milwaukee’s starting goalie, Pekka Rinne, won his first nine AHL playoff games after being returned to the Admirals from Nashville following the Predators’ first-round NHL playoff loss.
He struggled, though, in the final three games, and was pulled Thursday after Hershey took a 2-0 lead less than six minutes into the game.
“You’ve got to feel for Pekka,� Milwaukee coach Claude Noel said. “Pekka’s had a wonderful year. He’s taken us to this series, but he had a rough night.
The Bears scored two minutes into the game on a goal by Joey Tenute. Less than four minutes later, Hershey’s Jakub Klepis scored to make it 2-0 and Milwaukee pulled Rinne after facing just four shots.
Brooks Laich’s power-play goal at the 12:38 mark gave Hershey a commanding 3-0 lead, and the Bears extended their advantage to 4-0 on Forbes’ goal less than two minutes into the second period.
Darren Haydar had the lone goal for the Admirals to pull to 4-1 with 16:38 left in the second period.
But Kris Beech answered with 13:15 left in the third to give Hershey the final margin.
“When we scored the fifth goal I said, ’That’s it. We’re going to win now,’� Boudreau said. “It was the first time I felt comfortable.�
Hershey goalie Frederic Cassivi stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced, while Admirals backup Brian Finley had 16 saves on 19 shots.
It was Hershey’s first Calder Cup championship since 1996-97.
For Boudreau, the championship was especially sweet. The Los Angeles Kings fired him as coach of their AHL affiliate in Manchester last June.
“It was probably the best thing that ever happened to me in my life,� he said.
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