The Hershey Bears concluded their five-game road trip in Laval for their second game against the Rocket. It was a homecoming of sorts for many players on Hershey’s group. Even with the Bears severely depleted and missing several key players, the Chocolate and White battled from an early deficit. The team earned a point, but ultimately lost in a skills competition by a 3-2 final score.
Stretched Thin
Hershey was dealt a blow ahead of puck drop as forward Pierrick Dubé was recalled by the Washington Capitals. It’s Dubé’s first call-up to the NHL in his professional career. He’ll look to make his debut with the team on Thursday in a hefty travel haul. He traveled from the Bears in Laval early on Wednesday to meet up with the Capitals in Washington. He’d then join the flight for the team to get to Tampa Bay for Thursday’s tilt.
Unfortunately, the Bears didn’t get any breaks in their lineup. Forward Ethen Frank was unable to return to game action on this night, leaving the Bears without both of their 20+ goal scorers in this game. Leading point scorer Mike Sgarbossa continues to be absent on his own recall to Washington. Captain Dylan McIlrath was absent, serving the first of a two-game suspension incurred on Monday’s game.
Roaring Back
The Bears had to go with a patchwork lineup for this game. The team dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Dmitry Osipov skating the game at forward. The group was the sum of Hershey’s remaining healthy players. Head coach Todd Nelson vowed the team would have reinforcements when the team would return to Hershey but used the players available tonight. Those reinforcements could be injured players returning to health or recalls from the South Carolina Stingrays.
The results showed a bit, as the Bears fell behind 2-0 after one period and were outshot 12-3. Former Hershey forward Phil Maillet beat his former team to open the scoring on the power play. Laval added another goal in the late stages of the opening stanza with Jared Davidson squeaking one past Hunter Shepard. Hershey roared back in the second period, outshooting Laval 17-7 and getting one back with a rocket from Ivan Miroshnichenko. Miroshnichenko’s last goal came in the last matchup between the teams on December 16.
Team Effort
The Bears got another big contribution from their depth players as Bogdan Trineyev scored a big-time goal. He’d pick off a soft pass and dangle past a defender, beating the goaltender on the backhand to tie the game at two. It’s been a similarly long time since Trineyev scored, his first tally since scoring the Teddy Bear Toss goal on January 7.
Hershey’s contributions didn’t stop there, as they withstood some chances with a team effort. On a penalty kill late, Hardy Haman Aktell sprawled out to make a key shot block on an empty net to keep the game even. The effort was enough to get the game in overtime, and ultimately the Bears fell short in the last round of the skills competition. They settle for one point to finish their road trip at 3-1-0-1 and return with a three-game point streak.
“I Wanna Go Ho-o-ome!”
Like Sandy Cheeks wanting to go home to Texas, the Bears are eager to get back to the Sweetest Place on Earth. Thursday figures to be a hefty trip of nearly 500 miles and almost eight hours to get home, and the Bears go right back to work. They’ll be back on Giant Center ice for the first time in 20 days as they take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hershey will then turn around and host the Rochester Americans in Saturday action.
Hershey wraps up a solid road trip. The team’s response to their struggles in the back half of the trip is the biggest positive. Nelson was none too pleased with the team’s effort in Toronto this past Saturday, but the team responded in a major way. Shootouts are all too often a coin toss at times, with the Bears narrowly missing out on a few chances to pot a goal in this one. Hershey has now lost three straight skills competitions after winning their first two.
