Matt Hendricks scored twice and Frederic Cassivi stopped 31 shots as the Hershey Bears won their second consecutive Eastern Conference championship with a 3-1 win in Manchester on Saturday night.
The Bears completed a four-game sweep of the Monarchs, and will meet Hamilton in the 2007 Calder Cup Final beginning Friday night in Chocolatetown.
Former Monarch Scott Barney netted the game-winning goal on a deflection early in the second period and Troy Milam, in the lineup for the first time since Apr. 19, notched two assists for Hershey, which tied an AHL record with its seventh consecutive series triumph.
Matt Ryan got Manchester on the board with 7:51 remaining in the third period, but Cassivi and the Bears shut the door the rest of the way. Hershey wound up outscoring the Monarchs by an 18-5 count in the series.
Hershey improved its record to 12-2 this postseason, and is now four wins away from becoming the first AHL team to repeat as Calder Cup champions since the 1990-91 Springfield Indians.
Eastern Conference Final – Series "M" (best-of-7)
E1-Hershey Bears vs. A1-Manchester Monarchs || Preview
Game 1 – Sat., May 19 –
Game 2 – Sun., May 20 –
Game 3 – Wed., May 23 – Hershey 4, MANCHESTER 1
Game 4 – Sat., May 26 – Hershey 3, MANCHESTER 1
