The Hershey Bears met up with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the eighth installment of their rivalry series on Saturday. The I-81 rivalry heated up before a sold-out crowd at Giant Center and the Bears took a gritty 1-0 win. Ethen Frank scored the lone goal and Clay Stevenson made 29 saves to record his sixth shutout of the year, a record for Bears rookies. Bears head coach Todd Nelson explained the difficulty of the game after a tough game a night prior in Hartford.
Grin and Bear It
“It was a tough one to watch,” Nelson said. “Just an ugly, ugly game but we found a way to get it done. It was an emotional game for us last night against Hartford. Lots of emotion in that game, but the guys found a way to get it done. Wilkes had us hemmed in a quite a bit in all three periods, but the guys gave a lot of second efforts on shot blocks. When we broke down, Clay was there.”
The Bears played in Hartford against the Wolf Pack less than 24 hours before puck drop on Saturday. Hershey took a 4-2 decision in that game and made the trek home for this game. The win broke the record for the fastest pace to 30 wins in team history in just 39 games. The previous record was held by the 2009-10 team that hit the mark in 41 games. It was an important win against a team that’s become an instant rival for the Bears.
Plaguing the Penguins
For an encore performance, the Bears took on a tough iteration of the Penguins that had the added bonus of being fully rested. Wilkes-Barre was idle on Friday and was fresh in contrast to Hershey’s miles logged on the road. The difference was notable in the game, leading to Wilkes-Barre controlling the puck for large stretches. Stevenson was tested often and was the difference-maker in the game.
Stevenson’s clean sheet earns him a unique slice of Bears history. He becomes the only goaltender in team history to record six shutouts in his rookie season. Previously, he shared the mark with Ron Hextall and Vitek Vanecek with five but now stands alone in that category. Stevenson outshined fellow Atlantic Division All-Star Joel Blomqvist in this one, stopping all 29 shots he faced.
Special Teams Shine
The lone goal in the game was off the stick of another All-Star in Frank. Special teams influenced another win for the Bears as he tallied a goal on a two-man advantage. It’s Frank’s 17th goal of the season and gives him goals in three of his last four games. Mike Sgarbossa extended his point streak to five games (38 points in 38 games played) on the primary assist. Joe Snively tallied an assist to give him 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in eight games during the regular season series.
In addition to the power play goal, the Bears killed off all three penalties in a successful special teams game. That included an important penalty late in the third period with the Penguins pressing hard. Although Hershey’s offense frustrated him, Nelson lauded his team’s defensive prowess.
“I’ve always said, ‘they can’t all be Picassos’,” Nelson said. “It was tough to watch for me. As a coach, I’m getting frustrated with the guys because they weren’t making plays. They couldn’t string two or three passes together. Then you step back and realize we’re a tired group, Wilkes did not play last night so they were fresh. They had a real big lineup up front, we had a hard time containing them and killing plays.”
Finding Ways to Win
“What I liked about what we did tonight, when we did break down, someone always seemed to help,” Nelson said. “A blocked shot, a good stick, and it’s important to win these grinding kinds of games. In the playoffs, it’s going to be tough, you have to find ways to win. It builds confidence that, if we don’t have our A-game, we find ways to win.”
The win turns what was a tough stretch into another positive. It’s Hershey’s fifth game in a row with a point after a pair of shootout losses last week. 64 points brings them 15 over the next best team in the Atlantic Division. It makes for another success story amidst a season full of them in the Sweetest Place on Earth.
Mixing and Matching
Equally impressive in the win was a lineup full of mixing and matching. A recent rash of injuries forced the Bears to recall Tyson Empey and Kevin O’Neil from the South Carolina Stingrays. The team inserted Logan Day and Jake Massie on the blue line for Chase Priskie and captain Dylan McIlrath. Day and Massie were key to the team’s Calder Cup win but jumped in the lineup for two players who don’t miss much time.
“We only play two games a week,” Nelson said. “Jake Massie and Logan Day haven’t played in quite a while. Coming back from the road, there’s bumps and bruises. Especially with a guy like (McIlrath), I talked to him about it and it was a good time for him to rest. He was banged up a bit and we felt that, if we put some fresh guys in, we would benefit from it.”
Hershey’s injuries included the loss of Alex Limoges, who was injured in practice after scoring the winner on Teddy Bear Toss Night. Both Garrett Roe and Matt Strome were injured during Hershey’s game in Hartford, leaving Empey to make his debut on Saturday. The forward impressed in the preseason and is having a good season in the ECHL as is O’Neil.
Bears Den
Although the Bears have just three games of their next six at home, it’s a much friendlier travel slate. The Chocolate and White won’t leave the state of Pennsylvania until after the All-Star break. It’s a nice reward for the team after conquering this difficult back-to-back set of games. They’ll continue to get their best from opponents like these Penguins as well as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms that are always tough opponents.
The Bears will host the Springfield Thunderbirds in their next game on Wednesday at Giant Center. It’ll be a rematch when the Bears and the Penguins meet at Mohegan Sun Arena next Saturday night.
