Former UMD captain Hunter Shepard wins AHL’s Calder Cup, postseason MVP

Goalie Hunter Shepard won back-to-back NCAA national titles with the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) men’s hockey team (2018, 2019), then late Wednesday night he lifted the Calder Cup winning the AHL (American Hockey League) championship with the Hershey Bears.

The 27-year-old Cohasset, Minnesota native made 45 saves backstopping the Bears to a 3-2 Game Seven win over Coachella Valley in overtime.

That performance earned Shepard the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy awarded to the Calder Cup Playoffs’ MVP. In the postseason he recorded a 14-6 record with a .914 save percentage, 2.27 goals-against average, and three shutouts.

Shepard served as a captain for UMD in his final season in 2019-2020. This marked his third season with Hershey.