HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — John Hayden and Ryan Winterton each scored twice and the Coachella Valley Firebirds beat the defending champion Hershey Bears 4-3 on Friday night in Game 1 of the Calder Cup final.
Chris Driedger made 16 saves for the Firebirds, with coach Dan Bylsma in his final games with the team before taking over as coach of the parent Seattle Kraken.
Last year in their first season in the American Hockey League, Coachella Valley fell to Hershey 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 of the final.
Joe Snively, Hardy Häman Aktell and Hendrix Lapierre scored for Hershey, the Washington Capitals’ top farm team. Hunter Shepard stopped 19 shots.
The Bears played two days after beating Cleveland 3-2 in overtime at home in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final.
Game 2 is Sunday in Hershey.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
