After backing up Joey Daccord on the Firebirds’ run to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals last year, the net belongs to Chris Driedger this year. He has played every minute of the postseason so far, including Friday’s 4-3 win in Game 1 the Finals rematch against the Bears on Friday.
When the Bears opened the scoring 1:15 into the game, though, it was not the start that the Firebirds had envisioned.
“The crowd definitely gets into it, no doubt about that,” Driedger said after the win. “It’s a gritty team over there. I thought the Bears came out pretty hot, and we were maybe on our heels there for the first 10 [minutes]. I think we weathered the storm nicely and got to our game, played fast, played hard.
“Honestly, I was a little worried there. I was like, ‘Oh, maybe we’ve met our match here.’”
But Driedger shook off those doubts, settled in, and finished with 16 saves. He has gone 11-2 this postseason with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.
“I think once we got up to pace, our speed and skill did the job, and we were able to come out on top.”
All week long the Firebirds had waited and bided their time.
After closing out the Western Conference Finals in Milwaukee on June 8, Firebirds flew to Pennsylvania rather than heading back home. But Hershey and Cleveland still had to settle the Eastern Conference Finals; after the Bears had gone up three games to none in that series, Cleveland had responded with three straight wins before Hershey ended the series Wednesday night.
That meant six days between games for the Firebirds.
“We’ve been waiting here watching the series play out against Cleveland,” head coach Dan Bylsma said, “and there was just a little bit of anticipation for us to get this thing going. The message to the guys was just, ‘Get into the series. Get into the match.’
“This one is going to go 420 minutes, and we’re fully expecting that. I thought whether it’s a mistake or taking a hit or giving a hit, we had to get into the match, and we didn’t do that early. I think the guys on the bench were just talking about the next play, the next play, the next play.”
With Hershey on the power play early in Game 1 and already up a goal, John Hayden’s shorthanded marker tied it at 1-1.
“That settled everyone down,” Bylsma said.
Bears head coach Todd Nelson did not rule out changes to his defense corps as the series moves forward.
The Bears are without three top blueliners in Vincent Iorio, Lucas Johansen and Aaron Ness, all members of their Calder Cup-winning team last year. Dmitri Osipov, who played just 17 games in the regular season, made his first appearance of the playoffs in Game 1.
“I didn’t mind the ‘D’ corps,” Nelson said after Friday’s game. “I thought Osipov came in and did a fine job. I’ll check with the medical staff to see where we’re at. I’m not ruling anything out.”
― with files from Patrick Williams
