St. Vital's Dylan McIlrath Does it again
For the second-straight season, Winnipeg product Dylan McIlrath has captained the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears to a Calder Cup championship.
The Washington Capitals’ developmental affiliate came out on top in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals, winning 5-4 in overtime against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, clinching back-to-back Calder Cup titles in the process.
The back-and-fourth game at Giant Center Arena saw multiple lead changes and momentum switches throughout the game, including Firebirds' blueliner Cale Fleury knotting the game up at fours with 2:55 left to go in the third period. But the Bears stayed resilient and would soon collect the franchise’s 13th Calder Cup championship, with fourth line forward Matt Strome scoring the cup-clinching goal just 1:06 into overtime.
“It was never in doubt,” McIlrath said post-game. “I know it sucked losing the lead like that, but we just knew we were going to battle for each other.”
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound defenceman certainly didn’t blow up the score sheet in the post-season, only recording 3 assists in 20 playoff games, but that doesn’t diminish the captain’s important role on his Hershey squad.
McIlrath - the No. 10 overall selection by the New York Rangers in the 2010 NHL Draft - plays a very physical and simple defensive brand of hockey, which allows his teammates to play more freely in the offensive zone. McIlrath’s defensive awareness around the ice helped him to a plus-5 rating this postseason, and his potent physical game created some big momentum turns throughout Hershey's run to the cup.
“We talked about it all year and especially down the stretch here. We are going to need to sacrifice for one another,” the St. Vital product added post-celebration. “We are going to do whatever it takes.”
The 32-year-old captain also played a significant role in the success of Hershey’s penalty kill, which posted outstanding numbers throughout the entire year, gathering a success rate of 88 percent in the regular season and 85 percent in the playoffs.
After defeating Coachella Valley in seven games (also decided in overtime) last year in the Calder Cup Finals, Bears' head coach Todd Nelson - along with McIlrath - knew they had a strong chance to run it back with an even more improved team.
“We had that expectation all year that we were the best, and we had to run it back,” mentioned McIlrath. “It takes a lot of mental toughness to get through that, to be honest, but we got through it.”
The Bears finished the regular season with a staggering 53-14-5 record. Hershey’s 111 points on the season were not only the most of any team in the Atlantic Division or Eastern Conference, but the entire AHL. The closest team trailing them was none other than the Firebirds, who closed out the season eight points behind with 103.
Despite Hershey’s dominant regular season, the playoffs are always a different animal. The Bears may have been the favourite heading into the post-season, but there are never any guarantees.
Hershey defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-1 and the Hartford Wolf Pack 3-0 comfortably in the first two best-of-five rounds. The Cleveland Monsters, however, gave them a run for their money in the third round, taking Hershey all the way to seven games, before losing 3-2 in overtime.
With Hershey once again advancing to the Calder Cup Finals, it set the stage for the ultimate rematch of last year’s finals against Coachella Valley. The Firebirds were at one point up 2-1 in the series, but after that, the Bears grabbed control and never let go, defeating them for the second-straight spring.
“It was an amazing year,” said McIlrath. “This group was something special; we knew that from the get-go.”
With one more year remaining on his contract, if McIlrath fails to earn a roster spot with the retooling Capitals in the NHL, he will look to add yet another championship for Hershey, because the only thing better than a repeat is a three-peat.
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