Hershey Bears win second straight Calder Cup on Matt Strome goal in OT

For the second year in a row, the Hershey Bears are Calder Cup Champions – and this time, the younger brother of a current Cap gave the future Caps the right to skate their cup.

Hershey defeated the Coachella Valley Firebirds 5-4 in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals Monday night, with Matt Strome – younger brother of Dylan – scoring the game-winner just 1:06 into OT to give the Bears back-to-back Cups (both won against the Firebirds).

Pierrick Dubé had a hat trick for Hershey in regulation, but the game went to bonus hockey in a 4-4 tie after Coachella Valley tied it up with less than three minutes left – but just 66 seconds into the extra period, Strome, whose brother led the Caps in points in 2023-24, delighted a franchise-record crowd of 11,013 at Hershey’s GIANT Center by beating Firebirds goalie Chris Dreidger from the slot off a bad turnover, sneaking it glove-side for the Cup winner.

Hendrix Lapierre, who had 22 points in 51 games with the big club this year, earned the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy – the AHL’s version of the Conn Smythe – after scoring 22 points in the postseason, including a team-high seven in the finals.

Lapierre was one of 10 players on the Bears’ playoff roster that spent time with the Capitals this season, and one of six who played in the Caps’ playoff series against the Rangers.

This is Hershey’s second straight Calder Cup, fifth since returning to being a Caps affiliate in 2005-06, and 13th overall, and the third time in franchise history they have won back-to-back Cups.

For those who wish to see the Calder Cup paraded down Hersheypark Drive and Chocolatetown Road, the Bears’ Calder Cup celebration will be at GIANT Center at 6 p.m. Wednesday, with the team set to release additional information ahead of the event.