Hershey Bears head coach Todd Nelson made his return to the bench after a family-related absence on Friday. The five-time Calder Cup winner didn’t mince words about his team’s performance in a disappointing 6-1 loss to the Bridgeport Islanders. Nelson saw a team that didn’t have heart, courage, or a team spirit on the ice. The loss is a culmination of issues that have plagued the Bears over the early stages of the season.
Courage and Willpower
“You have to have courage to go back for the puck,” Nelson said. “You’ve got to want to go back for the puck hard, sprint back, and you might get hit. That’s the game of hockey; there’s body checking in this game. You have to have the courage to be first there, win the loose puck, and communicate. Play hockey like men, and we’re not doing that right now.”
“These are battles that are mental. You have to have the will to do it, the courage to do it. If you don’t have the courage, there’s no room in the lineup tonight.”
“I’m looking for emotion and passion. Hockey is an emotional game, you’ve got to play with passion and the dressing room was dead for whatever reason. I don’t know how they’re prepared at home. I don’t know if they think it’s going to be an easy night, we all knew (Bridgeport) was going to work. It’s been their MO since I’ve coached against them. If we don’t want to put in the work, we’re going to get beat. It’s a broken record right now.”
It added up over time for the Bears. Hershey entered the third period down just one goal behind Ethen Frank’s league-leading 11th goal of the season. However, Bridgeport rattled off four unanswered goals to put the game comfortably out of reach. By the end of the game, the Bears had no answer for and went away quietly.
No “I” in Team
The biggest offense to Nelson took place late in the game. Hershey’s sophomore forward Ivan Miroshnichenko was pushed around by the Islanders at the bench. Despite being down and out, Hershey’s lack of a response irked their head coach, who called that moment out specifically.
“We’re going to talk about the lineup,” Nelson said. “After what I saw tonight, we saw a young guy like Miro getting banged around out there tonight. No one’s doing anything about it. There are guys sitting out who would do something about it. It has to be a wolf pack mentality out there.”
It’s a humbling moment for the Bears, but one that will ultimately benefit them if they learn their lesson. Friday’s game is the tenth time this season that Hershey has surrendered the first goal. They’ve led after one period of play just two times this season. Even worse is their home record, a paltry 5-4-1-0 through ten games. Hershey was a staggering 29-7-0-0 in 2023-24 on home ice, rarely turning in a bad performance at home.
In contrast, the Chocolate and White are a perfect 5-0-0-0 on the road, not bad considering they’ll be away for four straight games. However, the team has some work to do on their game to even remotely emulate their past success.
“It’s Not Hershey Bears Hockey”
Nelson’s comments echoed the same sentiment as what his assistant coaches said following the team’s win on Tuesday. It’s a lesson for this Bears group to learn that, despite their talent, there’s more that goes into a winning team. Even with its best lineup in weeks, the Bears didn’t show up ready to play on Friday.
“We gotta learn, definitely,” Nelson said. “You look at me being gone; I probably should have stayed away. We had some chances, then all off a sudden, the first goal was one forechecker against two of our defensemen. They come up with the loose puck and find a guy all alone in front. That’s unacceptable, that’s not being ready to play. That’s not Hershey Bears hockey.”
“It tells me that something is going on and they have to prepare themselves better. It’s a good slap in the face for everybody. We won the last three games, played alright, but there’s something missing.”
Hershey has a chance to get right back at it on Saturday night in their first visit to the PPL Center. They’ll take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a team that has seen their stock rise a bit in recent time. Lehigh Valley, similar to Bridgeport, works hard and doesn’t give an inch as Hershey found out earlier this season. A big response is a necessity for this group.
Terry’s 1,000th Game
Bridgeport forward Chris Terry suited up in his 1,000th professional game on Friday night. The Islanders gave him the solo lap treatment in warmups in front of friends and family who made the trip. Terry tallied a pair of assists and earned second star honors, the latest big performance during his lengthy career. He made his AHL debut all the way back on April 9, 2008, as a member of the Albany River Rats.
“He’s a player who loves to play the game,” Nelson said of Terry. “It’s quite an achievement. He chipped in offensively and did his job. Their best players outplayed our best players by a landslide, and Chris Terry led the charge. He loves the game and wants to play hard for his hockey team, our guys could take a page out of his book.”
