By MARK HOSTUTLER

Special to The Plain Dealer

HERSHEY, Pennsylvania -- The feeling-out stage of the 2016 Calder Cup Finals is over.

Not that there was much feinting and pawing in Game 1 between the two heavyweights who never squared off during the AHL's 76-game regular season.

Lake Erie and Hershey were both in attack mode, hastening the tempo with their speed, as soon as the puck dropped Wednesday night in the Monsters' 4-1 victory at the Giant Center. Game 2 in Friday at 7 p.m. in the Giant Center.

"We had pretty good jump," Lake Erie coach Jared Bednar said. "We did a good job of getting in and out of our zone, and offensively, we created some things on the rush."

Although the Monsters fell behind in the first period, Bednar was especially pleased with how they performed early, given that their only familiarity with the Bears was through film.

"You have all the video in the world, but only a short period of time to digest it," he said. "We tried to put the focus on what we do well and how we got here. It was more about our base of play and what we need to do to be successful."

Bednar, who's in his first year as head coach of Lake Erie, knows quite well that Hershey, owner of 11 Calder Cups, won't be turning its other cheek after losing the opener at home in front of 8,875 fans. The 44-year-old guided the South Carolina Stingrays, the Bears' ECHL affiliate, to the Kelly Cup championship in 2009, and thus has intimate knowledge of Hershey's winning tradition.

Considering he has Anton Forsberg in net -- and therefore one of the biggest keys to success in the hockey postseason, a scorching-hot goaltender, checked off his list -- Bednar should rest easy at night.

Forsberg now has a league-leading 1.25 goals-against average and a .956 save percentage, to accompany his 6-0 record as a starter, in the playoffs.

"Anton's unbelievable back there," winger Daniel Zaar said of his fellow Swede, who made 26 saves in Game 1. "You feel safe when you're on the ice, and you have him back there."

The 22-year-old Zaar, a sixth-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2012 who's finishing up his first season in the United States, scored two goals Wednesday night. They were his fourth and fifth of the postseason.

"It's always nice to get a good start [to a series], and taking the first game on the road is important," he said. "But it means nothing [if we can't keep winning]."

To steal Friday's game and head back to The Q with a two-game cushion, the Monsters will again have to contain Hershey's Chris Bourque, the AHL MVP. Bourque, the son of Boston Bruins Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, tallied 30 goals and 50 assists during the regular season.

Game 1 summary

Jackets extend Sedlak: The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Thursday morning that Monsters center Lukas Sedlak has signed a one-year, two-way NHL/AHL contract extension through the 2016-17 season. Sedlak, 23, was the 158th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. He had 14 goals and four assists for 18 points with 27 penalty minutes and a +13 plus/minus rating in 54 games with the Monsters this season. Sedlak has been a terror in the playoffs with six goals, five assists for 11 points in the playoffs.

Notes: NHL prospect Zach Werenski, the eighth overall pick in last year's draft, continues to shine on the blue line for Lake Erie. The 18-year-old defenseman from Michigan has 11 points and a plus/minus of six in the playoffs. ... Lake Erie's Trent Vogelhuber, whose goal in Game 1 gave the Monsters a lead they never relinquished, and Hershey's Carter Camper, a Rocky River native, were teammates at Miami University and with the Springfield Falcons. ... Lake Erie did not have any power plays Wednesday, although it killed two penalties in the third period.