Marlies eliminated by Bears from Calder Cup playoffs in five games

Hershey Bears' Nathan Walker scores the game-winning goal in the 3-2 win over the Toronto Marlies and take the series 4-1, heading to the Calder Cup Finals.

TORONTO — Nathan Walker scored the eventual winner early in the second period as the Hershey Bears captured the American Hockey League’s Eastern Conference title on Sunday with a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Marlies.

The Bears took the series 4-1 and advance to the Calder Cup final for the 23rd time in franchise history. Hershey will face the Western Conference champion Lake Erie Monsters for the AHL title which begins Wednesday.

Hershey has won 11 Calder Cups since joining the league in 1938.

Liam O’Brien opened the scoring for the Bears midway through the first period with Christian Djoos extending the lead to 2-0 early in the second. Justin Peters made 21 saves for the win in net.

William Nylander, who was coming off a hat trick in Game 4, cut the lead to two at 8:05 of the second. Nikita Soshnikov also scored for the Marlies, who got 17 saves from Antoine Bibeau.

Both teams failed to score on one power-play opportunity.

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