Page 10 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 19, 2024 Vecchione adds another championship to his impressive hockey portfolio With a second Calder Cup in the books for the AHl’s Hershey Bears, the Saugus native eyes the hat trick next year By Joe McConnell ast year, Saugus native Mike Vecchione scored the overtime goal in Game 7 of the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Calder Cup finals to secure the first championship for his Hershey Bears since 2010. As a result, the Bears ended up beating the Coachella Valley Firebirds, 3-2. The same two teams went at L it again last month in the AHL finals. It took six games and another overtime period for the Bears to accomplish the backto-back feat. This time, they defeated the Firebirds, 5-4, in the clincher. The triumph was one for the history books, because it marked Hershey’s 13th Calder Cup championship, the most ever among AHL clubs. Vecchione suited up for 20 playoff games this spring and was credited with 2 goals and 8 assists. During the regular season, he had 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points in 67 games. After another successful season, the first question for Vecchione is fairly obvious: What is it like to win consecutive Calder Cup championships? “Words really cannot even begin to describe it, and I am not sure where to begin, because it just happened so fast,” said Vecchione. “It feels pretty surreal. I mean, after last year’s finals, I thought that was the top of the mountain, but here we Portal To Hope (“PTH”) serves people whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence and related assault crimes. Job Opportunities Available: PTH is seeking an Operations Assistant and a Licensed Social Worker to join our team! If you would like to join PTH’s award-winning team and share your leadership in the cause to end domestic violence, please call (781) 338-7678 for more information; or, email: nita@portaltohope.org. are. It feels like a blur.” “The offseason was so short, and the next thing I knew we were back playing in Hershey and making a Cup run. And at the blink of an eye, we were hoisting another [one],” added the Saugus native, who has also won championships in high school at Malden Catholic and at Division 1 Union College. That opportunity to win on all three levels is not lost on Vecchione, especially as a pro. “It is crazy, because there are so many friends of mine – or players I have crossed paths with – that have neither made it to the playoffs nor won a Cup. When you step back and take a breath to soak it all in, it still does not feel real. Once you win, there is so much partying going on, and the next thing EVERETT KIWANIS 38th ANNUAL FRANK E. WOODWARD GOLF TOURNAMENT!!! Supporting Scholarships for Everett High School Students Register online to play and to buy tee box signs at www.everettkiwanisgolf.com Date: July 26, 2024 Time: 7:00AM Registration – 8:00 AM Shotgun Start Location: Mount Hood Golf Course – 100 Slayton Rd. Melrose, MA Fee: $150.00 per golfer – includes 18-hole best ball scramble format, cart, greens fees, lunch, and prizes Please buy a tee box sign for $125.00 per hole Questions: Contact David LaRovere at david@larovere.com or 617-387-2700 Online registration gives option to be invoiced or pay online Mike Vecchione of Saugus triumphantly hoisted his secondstraight Calder Cup over his head for the AHL’s Hershey Bears (of Pennsylvania) after he and his teammates defeated the Coachella Valley Firebirds in Game 7 to win the title, 5-4, in overtime late last month. Both teams also hooked up last year in the finals, with the Bears coming out on top in overtime, 3-2, when Vecchione scored the clincher. (Courtesy photo/Tori Hartman/Hershey Bears) you know guys are leaving and signing with new teams, and it is on to the next season. But that’s just the nature of the business, even though at the same time we will always share that moment together as brothers forever,” he said. Just like the NHL’s (National Hockey League) Stanley Cup, players on the winning team get their day with the Cup. But this year might be different. “I’m not sure when, or if, I will be getting the Cup again this summer, because of the incredibly short offseason. But if I do, I’m certain that it will sink in, and I will have another memorable day with it like I did last year,” Vecchione said. After finishing with the AHL’s best overall regular season record (53-14-0-5), the Bears had to endure a long, agonizing and sometimes frustrating run in the playoffs. They earned a first-round bye before beating the Lehigh Valley Phantoms three games to one. They then swept the Hartford Wolfpack in three games. But the Cleveland Monsters gave them all they could handle in the Eastern Conference finals, taking them to a seventh game, before succumbing on the Bears’ home ice. But before they did, the Monsters staged a furious comeback bid after going down 3-1 in the series. The Firebirds also made them earn their second straight Cup with the finals going six games. Despite the long playoff run, it was not unlike last year’s journey. The only difference was that the 2023 Eastern Conference finals went six, while the aforementioned finals took all seven games, before the kid from Saugus won it in overtime. But for fans, this year just looked tougher, but Vecchione has a simple explanation for it. “This year’s playoff run got tough, because of the physicality of Cleveland,” he said. “They were a heavy team that could forecheck well, and we did not protect our defensemen as well as we could have, and it cost us dearly. We lost three of our six starting defensemen in that series, and they were not able to return for the remainder of the playoffs. We also lost two of our leading goal scorers for a short period of time in that series, one for oral surgery after taking a puck to the face that caused him to lose 10 teeth, and the other one from a bad hit into the bench. It was more of a mental battle than anything else for us, because we had the guys to win. We just were not executing at the level we were before, because of the adjustments we had to make. But give Cleveland credit. They saw blood in the water and capitalized. Once we got through that series, we were back to playing Bears hockey, and were able to beat Coachella in six. We dominated the physical aspect of the game in that series, and it took a toll on them, which is why I believe we were able to win the last three games to secure our second Cup.” HOCKEY | SEE PAGE 11
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