The Hershey Bears celebrated a Giant Center first by clinching the Calder Cup on home ice last season.



There was another first for the building Sunday night when the Charlotte Checkers defeated Hershey 2-1 in overtime in Game 6 of the East Division semifinals.



It marked the first time that the Bears, who lost the best-of-seven series 4-2, were eliminated from the playoffs on Giant Center ice.



"You go out there expecting to win," Bears centerman Keith Aucoin said. "In overtime, any shot is a good shot. They got the puck to the net. That's what they did all series. It's frustrating and kind of depressing."



The Bears, who fell behind 1-0 on Brett Sutter's goal 35 seconds into the first period, tied it 1-1 on Brian Fahey's tally at 14:18 of the third.



They buzzed in the final five minutes of regulation and generated momentum. But Charlotte's Nicolas Blanchard, converting a Nick Dodge feed, scored 1:30 into overtime.



"The start of OT, it happened so quick," said Checkers winger Oskar Osala, a former Bear. "Blanchard has been huge for us.



"I couldn't believe it. Overtime wins happen here and there. It's so much different when you realize it's the end of the series, not the end of the game. Then you realize it's against your former team. Pretty emotional."



The first-round ouster marked the end of Hershey's two-season reign as Calder Cup champions and ended its AHL-record postseason series winning streak at eight. It's the first time a Hershey season ended in April since a first-round loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2007-08.



"It's just weird," Bears captain Andrew Joudrey said. "It really is. I've been fortunate to be here for five full seasons, and three of them went to the Calder Cup finals. It's a bitter taste in a lot of guys' mouths. I guess shock is the only way to put it right now."



The Checkers won three in a row after trailing 2-1 in the series.



"I've got to give them a lot of credit," Joudrey said. "They competed. They played hard and they played together."



Hershey, coming off a stunning Game 5 loss in which Charlotte rallied from a 3-0 deficit, took a quick blow in Game 6 on Sutter's tally. But the Bears, who hung in with a 5-for-5 penalty kill, kept the deficit to one until Fahey tied it.



"I think we were very frustrated after that [Game 5] and we weren't going to take this game off," Bears goalie Braden Holtby (28 saves) said. "I think every one of us thought we were going to win.



"If you would have told me we'd have let in one goal through 60 minutes against this team, I would have thought you were crazy if we didn't win the game."



Fahey scored from the top of the right circle off an Aucoin faceoff win on Checkers goalie Mike Murphy (26 saves).



"Keith did a great job winning that faceoff and our forwards did a great job blocking out," Fahey said. "I was able to walk into it and just hammer it as hard as I could. It kind of found its way in there, and that's the kind of break we were looking for to send it into overtime."



Blanchard scored on the lone shot of OT.



"It was a good, tight game," Joudrey said. "We tied it up. We were confident here to go out there and get the job done and send it to Game 7. Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way."



The Albany River Rats, swept in the second round by Hershey last season, moved to Charlotte this season. The traditional post-series handshake line offered a reversal of fortune for many Checkers.



"It felt weird, for sure," Osala said. "It was fun to be on the part saying, 'Have a good summer,' this time. Last year, it was the other way around. It's always hard to battle against your old teammates. So it was extra emotional."



NOTEBOOK



The Bears are scheduled to hold season-ending exit interviews Tuesday.



A number of Bears likely will join the Washington Capitals for their Stanley Cup playoff run.



Hershey went 0-for-2 on the power play, including a 5-on-3 stretch lasting 1:12 in the first, to finish 1-for-26 in the series.



Charlotte advanced to play WBS in the East Division finals.



Hershey winger Andrew Gordon (leg) was sidelined for a fourth straight game.



In an ironic turn, Alex Giroux and Bryan Helmer, mainstays of Hershey's consecutive Calder Cup teams, also were eliminated Sunday when Oklahoma City lost to Hamilton.



Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau and defenseman Sean Collins, on recall to Washington, attended the game.





Charlotte Checkers eliminate Hershey Bears 2-1 in OT in Game 6 10 Gallery: Charlotte Checkers eliminate Hershey Bears 2-1 in OT in Game 6