The Calder Cup Playoffs don’t start until the end of the regular season on April 20. It was hard to tell the difference between the regular season and the postseason on Saturday. Giant Center was the destination, the matchup between the Hershey Bears and the Syracuse Crunch before a sold-out crowd. The Bears rebounded from an early deficit to take a 4-1 decision on home ice. Forward Jimmy Huntington tallied the game-winner in an important character win for the Bears.
Chocolate and White and Black and Blue
Both teams entered play on weary legs. The Bears got in late after a shootout loss in Utica, while the Crunch took a win on home ice over Belleville. Neither team had a hard time getting up for this tilt, with heavy hitting and offense at a premium. Syracuse opened the scoring early when Gabriel Fortier tucked a rebound past Clay Stevenson for his tenth of the season. Much as Utica did a day earlier, Syracuse took advantage of a simple formula to take the lead.
Hershey brought a defensive masterclass to the table in the second period. Syracuse only had two shots on Stevenson in the frame, while Hershey struck twice to turn the tables. Pierrick Dubé took the puck on a faceoff win by Jimmy Huntington, and his quick shot snuck through Brandon Halverson. Dubé earned his 25th goal of the season, his first since February 3. The goal has been the latest reward for him, as his line with Huntington and Matthew Phillips has done plenty of heavy lifting.
Hunting For Huntington
The eventual game-winner came off the stick of Jimmy Huntington on the power play late in the second. Dubé wheeled the puck to the blue line and put the puck on net. Huntington tapped the rebound past Halverson in the blink of an eye, before the defense knew he was there. The goal is his 14th of the season and gives him five points (three goals, two assists) in his last three games. Huntington had a boost in the crowd, as he had fans from his time with the Milwaukee Admirals in attendance.
Hershey added an important goal to open the third period. The Bears won a puck battle in the corner, and Vincent Iorio put a shot on goal. Riley Sutter floated by undetected and deflected the shot off the crossbar and past Halverson. Known for his defensive prowess, Sutter has tallied goals in back-to-back games and continues to shatter his bests in goals, assists, and points. He was not done, burying the empty net goal to seal a 4-1 decision. It’s the first time Sutter has tallied two goals in one game. Matt Strome registered a pair of assists on the goals.
Bears Bonding
A key moment in the game saw the Crunch up two men for nearly two full minutes. Sutter and Strome led the charge on the penalty kill, preventing Syracuse from clawing back into the game. The varied scoring and strong team effort is a welcome sign for head coach Todd Nelson. Hershey’s bench boss was openly critical of his team’s recent performance, holding a pregame meeting to spark his team. Despite their success this season, there’s room for growth, and the team responded.
“We didn’t play horrible in Utica, but we were playing halfway in,” Nelson said. “Just playing to play the game. We had a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting before the game with everybody, even the guys who aren’t playing. We talked about getting ready for playoffs. Tonight’s game and the five games after that are against teams that are high in the standings. Syracuse slapped us around before, and I told the guys that it’s hit or be hit. To be honest, I loved the way the guys responded.”
“Ever since the All-Star break, we’re playing inconsistent hockey. There’s been a bit of bickering on the bench during practice and I wanted to nip that in the bud. We talked about how tight our dressing room was last year and that’s probably why we won the Cup. If we didn’t have a tight dressing room and didn’t love each other, when Coachella scores to tie Game 3 at four, the guys could have easily packed it in. They didn’t, they stuck with it and we were able to come from behind. Our closeness is going to help us win games. We’re close, but there’s room for improvement.”
“If a guy is having a tough night, pick him up and help him out. Not everyone is perfect every night. We talked about how important it is and added the staff in there as well. We’re all going to war together, it was a meeting to get their attention. I loved the way they responded.”
Playoff Games
“Tonight’s game was as close to a playoff game as you can get,” Nelson said. “Great crowd, plenty of physicality by both teams. That was a playoff game tonight, that was the way it felt. I told the guys to embrace the situation going into third period and get comfortable playing in these games. It’s going to happen a lot in the playoffs. I liked the way they responded.”
Although the Bears have already clinched a berth in the postseason, the tests won’t stop. Hershey plays host to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday as a division foe hungry for points. The Wolf Pack travel into the Sweetest Place on Earth off a 4-2 setback on home ice. Three teams, including the Wolf Pack, are separated by a point for as high as third place in the division. Hershey will get the best from their opponents with no exception going forward. It’s up to the team to prove this team’s success is genuine and that they will be contenders, just as they were a year ago.
