Hershey Bears head coach Todd Nelson didn’t mince words about his team’s 6-3 loss to the Cleveland Monsters. His team played flat, falling behind in an uncharacteristic fashion. Ivan Miroshnichenko tallied a hat trick to pull his team to within a goal, but that’s as close as they’d get on this night. Clay Stevenson suffered the loss in his first game of the season with 21 saves on 26 shots. Nelson spoke for just over a minute and made it clear how he felt about his team’s loss, which fell short of the team’s expectations.
Humble Pie
“We didn’t deserve anything tonight,” Nelson said. “I don’t know if it was the emotions from last night, but we got outworked and weren’t sharp. Our go-to guys were not good, that’s putting it really nice. You can tell right away how sharp you’re going to be when you get power plays and you can’t make a ten-foot pass.”
“This is a good thing; we got served a slice of humble pie right now. Our guys in the room have to understand that we can’t just put our sticks on the ice and expect to win.”
Nelson’s frustration stems from a Hershey power play that went two-for-eight on the night. The Bears had just 11 shots on goal through forty minutes of play and trailed 4-1 by that point. Hershey turned up the heat and cut the deficit to just one goal but could not get any closer. The loss forces the Bears to settle for a split on their opening weekend for the second straight year.
Bears Out of Hibernation
Cleveland’s big guns did the heavy lifting on Sunday. Luca Del Bel Belluz had a hat trick and an assist to get his sophomore season off to a strong start. Trey Fix-Wolansky added a goal and three assists totaling to five points in two games. It was a different kind of game on Sunday in contrast to the season opener a day ago, as the Bears battled themselves as much as the Monsters.
Hershey’s struggles show the side of a team still gelling at the start of a new season. True, there’s a number of returning players who know the standard, but it’s still a new group. Nelson talked about the need to tighten up the team’s play as they learn the ins and outs of their structure. Hershey had such a strong season in 2023-24 and great defense was integral to the team’s back-to-back championships.
As the team gets back into the swing of the regular season, it’s a good learning experience to have early on. The Bears were almost able to turn even a subpar effort into points on the board behind Miroshnichenko’s hat trick. Hershey nearly pulled even at four before Malatesta’s goal squashed their comeback. Brennan Saulnier’s first scrap brought the team some needed momentum. Miroshnichenko’s effort marks the third straight game dating back to the Calder Cup Finals that a Bear has scored a hat trick.
Read Receipt Required
It’ll be up to Hershey to respond when they’re next in action on Wednesday. The Bears will be on the road for the first time in 2024-25 when they take on the Bridgeport Islanders. The Islanders lost both of their games on opening weekend and will be looking to correct the record. Hershey will face a familiar face as former Bear Brian Pinho will oppose them in that game.
It’ll be a big opportunity for the Bears to respond to their coach’s assessment of Sunday’s game. Last season, Hershey took a split and proceeded to win five of six games in October. It was just the first sign of how special that team was and is the same mountain this group has to climb now. The Bears have two games against the Chicago Wolves next weekend and play exclusively Atlantic Division rivals over the next month. It’s a big early test for the defending Calder Cup Champions.
