It’s hard to guess what might come in the final game of a three-in-three. The Charlotte Checkers and the Hershey Bears met up at Giant Center in just such an occasion, and the result was an unusual game. A quick start for the Checkers proved to be the difference, and what followed was a physical game with plenty of bad blood. The result was a 3-1 final score in favor of the visiting Checkers, snapping a five-game winning streak for the Bears on home ice.
Scoring Early
The Checkers tallied twice in just over three minutes of action as Mackie Samoskevich and Patrick Giles followed a similar game plan. They’d put the puck on Clay Stevenson and follow the rebound to tally goals. Despite the miles logged for both teams, Charlotte came out with pep in their step while Hershey looked slower in this one.
One of the bright spots for the Bears has been the play of Hendrix Lapierre, who returned to the team after just over a month’s absence. Lapierre struck on a shorthanded breakaway with a nice move for his second goal in as many games to claw the Bears to within a goal. The second-year pro found out at noon on Saturday that he’d be returning to Hershey but returned with a vengeance by lighting the lamp.
Physical Play
The second period was an atypical one for both teams. Neither team found the back of the net and shots were hard to come by. That didn’t make it hard to watch, as the two teams scrapped and clawed at each other. It’s the third time in the last five games these two teams have squared off, and tensions were bound to be high despite the heavy schedules. One instance saw Bears forward Mike Sgarbossa launch Checkers forward Gerry Mayhew while the two dueled in the moments before puck drop.
The physical edge seemed to get the Bears going a bit after a lethargic start, but Samoskevich would strike with another rebound goal to end their hopes of a comeback. The goal was the only one of the final 40 minutes of action and lifted the Checkers to their first win over the Bears in three tries.
“They were ready to go at the drop of the puck; we weren’t,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said after the game. “It was three games in three nights, but they had three games in three nights. We have to be ready to go, I thought we got outbattled, outskated. We had too many guys that, if they played an average game it may have been different. There were some stinkers out there tonight.”
The Road Ahead
The loss prevents this year’s Bears group from making history as the fastest iteration to reach 20 wins. They’ll aim to match the record on Wednesday when they host the Providence Bruins at Giant Center. As a nod to the team’s success, Hershey hasn’t lost on back-to-back nights yet this season, but lost two games of three this weekend. It’s as close to a struggle as the team has had all season, which is still immensely impressive.
Charlotte won’t have far to go, as they’ll head back to Allentown to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday. The Checkers look to avenge a 4-1 loss suffered there on Saturday to wrap up four straight road games. They’ll be back in Hershey to start 2024 in the next matchup between these two teams on January 3.
