The Hershey Bears missed out on a chance to clinch the Atlantic Division on Wednesday on home ice. They fell in overtime to the Syracuse Crunch in overtime by a 3-2 final score. It’s an impactful final score in Hershey’s race for final positioning in the final days of the 2024-25 season. Syracuse, meanwhile, clinched a berth in the North Division at long last. Hunter Shepard took the loss with 15 saves in a stat line that’s a bit unfair to his performance.
Massie’s Back
Hershey got a major boost on the blue line as Jake Massie returned to action for the first time since late January. Massie was knocked out of a game in Laval with a tough leg injury. The defender is in his fourth season with the Bears and is an essential part of this group. Massie logged some big minutes paired with Vincent Iorio. In the absence of Aaron Ness, Massie’s return adds speed, size, and a lot of skill.
“He brings it,” head coach Todd Nelson said of Massie. “It looks like he didn’t miss a beat, to be quite honest. I thought he played a very strong game.”
His skill set was important towards Hershey’s effort in this game. Massie helped the Bears work their way out of a few tough situations. In a playoff-style game, Massie found his game shape right away.
Down to the Wire
Hershey trailed after a difficult second period. Syracuse rattled off a pair of goals to turn an early 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. It seemed as though the Bears might be heading to a loss, but Hendrix Lapierre had other ideas. He made a strong play to steal the puck just inside the blue line and find Alex Limoges for the tying goal. Lapierre, Hershey’s Calder Cup MVP a year ago, seems to be finding that form with a goal and an assist on Wednesday.
The Bears could not find the go-ahead goal despite pushing in the third period. The two teams would go to extra time, but didn’t need too much of it. A Hershey turnover led to a breakaway for Conor Sheary, which is a recipe for disaster. The extra point went to the Crunch by a 3-2 final score.
“It was a turnover, we were cheating for offense and gave up a breakaway,” Nelson said. “We’ve got to be smarter and know who they have on the ice. You don’t want to give Sheary a breakaway in overtime.”
“I thought that there wasn’t a whole lot of emotion from (Syracuse). I expected more. It was a game we should have taken, to be quite honest. We fought back in the third period to tie it up but two mistakes in overtime cost us a point.”
“We had some inconsistencies the last couple weeks, but I thought tonight’s game was tight checking from both sides. Not many shots on goal for either team. When we did get hemmed in on one shift, they only generated one shot on goal.”
Important Points Remain
The lost point combined with a win for the Charlotte Checkers to prevent Hershey from locking up the Atlantic Division title. The Bears need one point gained or lost by the Checkers to earn the title. Hershey lost out on a major chance to claw into the race for the AHL crown with the Laval Rocket losing in regulation. The Rocket would need to lose their two remaining games combined with two Bears wins to see fortunes changed at this point.
Hershey wraps up the regular season against their two most frequent foes. The Bears take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins followed by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Four points are on the table for the Bears to finish as strong as possible. Hershey may opt for a veteran look on both games or add some of their youth talent.
