- Spencer Carbery says he gets goose bumps every time he walks back into Hershey’s GIANT Center
- He coached the Bears for three seasons and was named AHL coach of the year in his last one
- Read below for the six current Capitals who won a Calder Cup in that building
Spencer Carbery still gets goose bumps walking into Hershey.
The Washington Capitals coach was back at GIANT Center on Monday night, home of the club’s AHL affiliate, where his team beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2. He was asked after the win what the return to Chocolate Town does to him.
“Anytime you come back here, driving in on the bus, flying in, walking into this building, I get goose bumps,” Carbery said. “I spent three years as a coach, but essentially five years with my family in this town and seeing the familiar faces.”
Watch Carbery’s full postgame availability from the Bears’ room:
He ran the Hershey bench from 2018 to 2021 and went 104-50-9-8 there. His final season got cut short by the pandemic, and he still finished 24-7-2 for the best record in the AHL and took home coach of the year.
Six players in Monday’s lineup own a Calder Cup ring from that building: Ethen Frank, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Aliaksei Protas, Dylan McIlrath, Clay Stevenson and Bogdan Trineyev. All six dressed.
Carbery was asked what the night meant to that group.
“This building, organization, community, mean a lot to a lot of guys who played tonight,” he said. “They won championships here, won Calder Cups. They called this place home. They had so many memorable moments out on that ice, so to come here again this year and play well in front of the home fans, I’m proud of the guys because it means a lot to a lot of people who were here today.”
A near 50-50 split of Washington red and Philadelphia orange filled the 10,500-seat arena, with plenty of Bears brown mixed in.
Ryan Chesley, who put up three points in the win, spent last season skating in that rink and was asked on the broadcast what the crowd is like:
Monday was the fourth preseason game the Capitals have played in Hershey and the second September in a row. They beat the Flyers 5-1 there a year ago.
Jonny Brodzinski scored on back-to-back nights and Dylan Strome put up a two-goal game, so the hockey held up too. Check out Brodzinski’s:
Not everything went smoothly. Andrew Cristall got tossed for cross-checking Flyers defenseman Hunter McDonald in the face, and the league handed him the maximum fine on Tuesday.
