The Hershey Bears traveled to Bridgeport to take on the Islanders in the penultimate game of a ten-game road trip. Hershey looked to bank some important points in the Atlantic Division playoff race, with the prize being a first-round playoff bye. Goaltender Garin Bjorklund made his AHL debut and earned the win with 26 saves after a stellar season in the ECHL. The Bears scored three early goals and maintained the lead to improve to 6-1-1-1 in the road trip.
Bjorklund’s Big Night
Bjorklund’s start headlined the night, with the netminder called up to fill in for an injured Clay Stevenson. He’s had an impressive season with Hershey’s ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, with big numbers. Bjorklund’s numbers are vastly improved compared to a year ago, with health and consistency key in his strong play. He ranks among the ECHL’s best in goals against average (2.02) and save percentage (.927). The stars aligned for Bjorklund to get the opportunity to start in Wednesday’s game.
Although Hershey’s offense got on the board early, Bjorklund was responsible for locking the lead down with some big stops. Bjorklund bailed the Bears out in the second period. Known for making the highlight reel often in the ECHL, Bjorklund made a few nice saves to keep Hershey’s lead intact. It’s been a long time in the making as Bjorklund only played in one game in 2022-23 due to injury. It’s the second year in a row that a Hershey goaltender won their debut in Bridgeport.
“I feel great,” Bjorklund said after the game. “It’s been a long time waiting, the boys helped me out early scoring three goals quickly. The road’s never going to be easy. There’s always hills and valleys, but I’m happy to be here and share it with the guys.”
Bears Roar Early
Hershey scored three goals in the first period to jump out to an early lead. It took the Bears only 50 seconds to get on the board courtesy of Ivan Miroshnichenko. He pounced on a loose puck and beat Henrik Tikkanen for his 19th goal of the season. Hershey’s sophomore sensation is the team’s active leading scorer and one away from catching Ethen Frank’s mark of 20.
The Bears followed it up with a power play goal for Mike Vecchione. Hendrix Lapierre got loose and found Vecchione alone in front of the net. He got a sweet deflection goal to double Hershey’s lead. Vecchione is heating up with three goals in his last two games and has 18 on the year.
Hershey followed it up only a few minutes later with a tally from Pierrick Dubé. Garrett Roe won a battle along the boards and fed the puck through some defenders. The battle win gave Dubé time and space, and his lethal shot found the net. Dubé would later add an empty net goal for two goals on the night.
It was a solid night for Hershey as Lapierre tallied three assists while Roe had two in the win. It was not Hershey’s best game, but they persevered behind a solid effort in net by Bjorklund.
Division Rivals
Hershey gained two points to keep up with the competition. Rivals Wilkes-Barre and Charlotte took wins on Wednesday to maintain the point race in the Atlantic Division. The Bears are five points ahead of the Penguins for first place. The top two teams in the division are exempt from the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. There are only ten games remaining for both teams including two head-to-head games. Collecting as many points as possible will be essential down the stretch.
Hershey concludes the road trip in Utica for the first game of a home-and-home set with the Comets this weekend. The Bears are slowly getting healthy, with Ethan Bear returning from injury. Others, like Aaron Ness, Jake Massie, and Alex Limoges are nearing returns from absence to injuries. The team is hoping to get healthy ahead of a run at the postseason.
