The Washington Capitals saw their prospects put on quite a show on Sunday for the Hershey Bears, as the AHL affiliate bounced back and piled it on for a 5-2 win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds to even up the Calder Cup Finals at 1.
Ivan Miroshnichenko opened the scoring on an impressive shot, one-timing a feed to the slot past Chris Driedger to send GIANT Center into a frenzy. It marked the Russian's seventh goal of the postseason as he continues to thrive and adapt to the North American game.
Hershey would extend its lead to 3-1 in the second period, with Jimmy Huntington and Washington prospect Pierrick Dubé finding twine. Dubé, who requires heavy dental work after taking a puck to the face back in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Monsters, has points in three straight and four of the last five overall.
In the third period, it was Hardy Häman Aktell who stepped up to the plate to secure the victory.
Halfway through the third period, with the Bears leading by one, the Swede fired a slapshot off the face-off past Driedger to restore the two-goal lead for Hershey. Then, in the final seconds of regulation with Coachella Valley making a late push on a power play, Häman Aktell scored on the empty net from his own zone to secure the 5-2 win.
Hunter Shepard bounced back, too, stopping 32 of 34 shots (.941 save percentage) in Game 2 after looking a bit drained in the series opener.
Alex Limoges and Mike Vecchione also impressed with two assists each.
Washington's prospects will look to keep the good times rolling as they head to California for the next three games. Hershey next plays on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.
