HERSHEY, Pa. — "Winning hockey, and you're like, Captain Obvious," said Bears Head Coach Spencer Carbery with a laugh.
That's what Coach will remember the most about this year's championship Hershey team, their ability to do whatever is necessary to pull out a victory.
But there is one thing he can't wait to ditch.
"This is the one that I'm hoping we're rid of," Carbery said holding up a mask. "To be able to communicate with my facial expressions and really get a point across."
There's no masking the potential of this year's roster. From the veteran leadership of Matt Moulson, to the dynamic offensive ability of their top rookie Connor McMichael.
"It's a game of inches up here and in juniors, you can kind of get away with not being as tight on your assignments or whatever it is," said McMichael. "It woke me up a little bit and made me realize how difficult it is to play in the NHL."
It was a shorter AHL schedule than normal, but the guys are still worn down from a challenging year.
"We left it all out there in the little games that we played. Hopefully, the guys aren't saying they are too fresh because we played pretty hard," added Moulson.
"It's something we have to keep in the back of our minds going into next summer and summer training," said Shane Gersich. "Next year is going to be a full year and we have to be prepared for it."