The back-to-back Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears hit the ice for their season opener on Saturday night. A capacity crowd of 10,588 packed Giant Center to see a new banner lifted to the rafters. The Hershey faithful were treated to an offensive outburst by the home team to the tune of a 7-3 win. Ethen Frank tallied a hat trick and four others lit the lamp in the decision. Hunter Shepard made 30 saves in the win while Jet Greaves suffered the loss with 28 stops.
Rivalry Renewed
Before the game, the Bears hoisted their 13th Calder Cup Championship banner to the rafters. The team celebrated the win and had to get to work in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Final. Only a few months removed from Garrett Roe’s overtime goal in Game Seven, the Monsters had revenge on their minds. The two teams renewed rivalries easily even in the earliest part of the season.
The eager crowd was able to roar early in this game. Vincent Iorio tallied the first goal of the season for the Chocolate and White only five minutes in. His shot found a home through some traffic to make it 1-0 in favor of the home team. It’s the second straight year in which the first goal of the year for Hershey came from a defenseman. Unlike a year ago, the Bears broke through for a tally early. Last season, the Belleville Senators blanked them in their first game of the campaign.
Fear the Depths
The Monsters got their chances in this game, hitting double digits in shots in each period. Despite not finding the twine in the first period, they tested Shepard with quality looks. Cleveland broke through with a goal just after a power play ended off the stick of Rocco Grimaldi. The veteran of over 430 AHL games signed a professional tryout agreement days before Saturday’s game.
Cleveland took the lead just over halfway through regulation with Roman Ahcan’s first of the year. He was able to pop the puck in from low in front of Shepard to suddenly put the visitors in front. It was reminiscent of the playoff battles from the spring, seeing the teams trade goals. Cleveland saw plenty of roster turnover this summer, with key players either leaving or moving to the NHL. Ahcan enters his fourth season with the Monsters and made an immediate impact.
Let Me Be Frank With You
Hershey roared back just over a minute later with a familiar face getting in on the scoring. Ethen Frank scored on the power play from the left circle to even the count at two. Frank, who tallied 29 goals last season and 30 the year before, got the team’s power play going after a slow start. With strong point producers Mike Sgarbossa, Alex Limoges, Ivan Miroshnichenko, and Chase Priskie flanking him, Hershey’s power play is loaded.
Frank’s goal started a deluge of scoring for the Chocolate and White. Only a couple minutes later, Bogdan Trineyev put the Bears in front with a wicked wrister off the crossbar and in for his first of the year. Trineyev had 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 63 games in his rookie season. He’s one of several Bears looking to take the next step and factor in on offense, with this goal the first of many to come.
More penalty trouble for the Monsters meant more opportunities for the Bears. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it as Sgarbossa set up Frank for another shot from the left circle. The goal stood up as the eventual game-winner on this night. Hershey missed Sgarbossa in 2023-24, as he played in 44 games and racked up 43 points (seven goals, 36 assists) but was recalled by Washington. The Capitals opted not to expose Sgarbossa to waivers at the deadline, meaning he could not return for the postseason. Hershey managed to win the Calder Cup in his absence, and his addition is a major one for this season.
Bear’s Bears
Frank capped off a big night with his third goal of the game, sending the hats flying at Giant Center. Mike Vecchione fired the puck from the high slot, which sat loose for Frank to put back past the stunned goaltender. Previously, Pierrick DubĂ© tallied a hat trick in Game Six of the Calder Cup Finals, the same night the Bears won it all. It’s the second straight game the Bears have tallied hat tricks, despite the separation of time.
The Bears added another goal only 31 seconds later. DubĂ© sprung the Bears on a three-on-one rush, with newcomer Luke Philp’s shot rebounded directly to Ethan Bear for the goal. It marks Bear’s first goal as a Hershey Bear, as he became an unlikely addition to the team. Washington opted to put him on waivers while keeping Hershey captain Dylan McIlrath as a result of a strong showing. Bear’s first outing saw him register a goal and a plus-two mark.
The teams traded goals in the remainder of action. Denton Mateychuk tallied his first goal of the season on the power play as the lone Monster with multiple points in this game. The 12th overall pick in 2022 memorably made his AHL debut during the Eastern Conference Final, tallying three assists in four games. He now has five points in five total AHL contests.
Hershey finished the scoring with a tic-tac-toe passing play leading to Luke Philp’s first goal as a Bear. Philp, one of the top new additions to the Bears this season, tallied a goal and an assist in an impressive showing. He missed most of 2023-24 due to an Achillies injury that required surgery, and the Bears are hoping he can get back to his hold form. He tallied 29 goals and 53 points in 2022-23 and can make this dangerous team even better.
Strong Start
“Franky scores goals, and he did a good job of it tonight,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said after the game. “It kind of sparked us. He’s picking up where he left off last year, I liked the way he played tonight. To get it out of the gate like that, it’s going to give him a big boost this year.”
“We have a lot of things to improve. I thought our compete got better throughout the game, we were still in summer hockey mode the first period. If Shep wasn’t sharp, the game could have been totally different. Cleveland works their butts off, they never quit no matter what the score is. There’s a lot of things we can work on, but we found a way to win.”
“The game was a bit sloppy, I expected that. You’ll see a more controlled game (on Sunday).”
Of Hershey’s forwards, Alex Limoges had a notable game with three assists and collecting second star honors. Five different players collected multiple points for the Chocolate and White while their power play went two-for-six on the night. Sunday’s lineup could see some changes, with the Bears notably having to sit one of their biggest free agent additions due to the development rule. Defenseman Brad Hunt was the odd man out as the veteran did not make it into the lineup alongside talented rookies like Zac Funk and Alexander Suzdalev.
The two teams are set to collide again in a rematch on Sunday evening. It’ll be the last time the two teams meet until Hershey’s historic ten-game road trip in March.
