HERSHEY, Pa. (WHTM) – Hunter Shepard faced 47 shots in the Hershey Bears Game 7 overtime 3-2 win, only allowing two goals in the cup-clenching effort.

Shepard was named the Calder Cup Playoffs MVP for his powerful performance throughout the Bears Calder Cup run.

This was the Coleraine, Minnesota native’s first Calder Cup playoff appearance since joining the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Bears in the 2020-21 season.

Shepard played in all 20 games leading to the hoisting of the cup for a total of 1188 minutes. Over that time Shepard posted 478 saves for a .914 save percentage. The MVP allowed 45 goals for a 2.27 goals-against average.

During the regular season, Shepard split duties with netminder Zach Fucale. Fucale played in 38 games with Shepard playing in 33. This was Shepard’s breakout season who had only played in 12 games across his two previous seasons with Hershey.

Shepard had a .916 save percentage in the regular season to lead the Bears to a playoff berth. Shepard made 765 saves for a 2.18 goals against average. His regular season record ended 20-8 with one shutout.

Before joining Hershey, the 27-year-old spent most of the 2020-21 season with the South Carolina Stingrays, playing in 21 games. Sheppard later played for them again in the 2021-22 season for 23 games.

Sheppard played four years at the University of Minnesota Duluth from 2016 to 2020, winning back-to-back national championships at UMD his sophomore and junior year. The Bulldogs went to two National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Frozen Faceoff championships in 2017 and 2019 with Sheppard.

Prior to college, Shepard played for two seasons in the North American Hockey League with the Bismarck Bobcats.

In high school, Sheppard was a standout goalie at Grand Rapids High School.

Now, Sheppard is a Calder Cup Champion, MVP, and all-around Hershey hero.