The best teams find a way to win. In a rematch with the Charlotte Checkers, the Hershey Bears didn’t play their best but found a way to earn a 4-3 shootout win. The decision got the Bears back into the win column after a loss the day prior. It caps off a stretch that saw the Chocolate and White play six games in a span of ten days. The win keeps the Bears at the top of the Atlantic Division, but the team has a work to do.
Battling Bears
Head coach Todd Nelson put the team’s lines in a blender for Sunday and juggled personnel for four new lines. The team got good news on the injury front with the return of Hardy Haman Aktell as well as healthy statuses for Nicky Leivermann and Jon McDonald. Despite the adjustments, it was a slow start as they fell behind on Riley Bezeau’s first goal of the year.
Hershey rattled off three goals in the second period on just six shots on Cooper Black. Ethen Frank buried a rebound of an Ivan Miroshnichenko shot for a power play goal. Minutes later, Henrik Rybinski deflected a shot from Ethan Bear to put the Bears in front. They’d cap off the flurry a minute later with Frank’s second of the game on a nice pass by Luke Philp.
Frank’s outstanding effort moves him into elite territory in the AHL. It’s his third multi-goal game of the young season and gives him points in four straight games. His goal count of nine is tied for the league lead and his point count is second in the league at 13. Alex Limoges is right behind him with 12 points after tallying a pair of assists on Sunday.
Extra Time
Unfortunately for Nelson and the Bears, penalty trouble played into the game eventually going to overtime. Hershey found themselves down two men late in the second period against Charlotte’s highly rated power play. The Checkers made them pay with Michael Benning’s second goal of the season. They’d quickly tie the game in the third period with Ryan McAllister’s third goal of the year.
“We had the game going the right direction,” Nelson said after the game. “All we had to do was dump the puck in, and we turned it over. Then we took a penalty and then another one, and it was five-on-three. They got back in the game and got life while we hung on for our lives in the third period. We were very fortunate to get two points today.”
Many of Hershey’s recent trends continued in this game. The Chocolate and White only mustered 15 shots on goal in regulation and overtime. That number is somewhat misleading as the Bears had a few shots not reach the goaltender. However, it doesn’t excuse the effort being below the lofty expectations this group has.
Thankfully, the Bears were able to get the extra point in their first shootout of the season. Hunter Shepard stopped three of Charlotte’s top scorers in Aiden McDonough, Kyle Criscuolo, and John Leonard. In the bottom of the third round, Pierrick Dubé beat the goaltender to give Hershey a much-needed win.
Work in Progress
Although the Bears were able to end the weekend on a good note, there’s room for improvement. Hershey capped off a busy stretch dating back to last weekend and will be away from game action until Saturday. They’ll be far from propping their feet up, however, as Nelson plans to work on conditioning this week. It’s all part of his secret recipe that’s resulted in back-to-back Calder Cups in Hershey.
“We have to be a lot better,” Nelson said. “Sometimes when you go through these skids where you’re not playing so great, you go through hard times to turn a corner. The second period wasn’t so bad but the third was unacceptable. The guys know it, too. We have a week where we can work and get the team ready for next weekend.
“We can’t fool ourselves by saying that we got points. The coaching staff, the players know we have to be a lot better. I think everyone in the building saw that tonight. We have so much more to give than what we’re showing tonight. We can enjoy the win, but if we play like that, it’s not winning hockey to me.”
Home Cooking
It’s a rare week that the Bears will not need to travel. They’ll wrap up a five-game homestand with a pair of contests with the Springfield Thunderbirds next weekend. Hershey played Springfield once already this season, taking a 6-2 decision during a busy road weekend. They’ll look to improve their game in the leadup to the weekend under Nelson’s watchful eye. After the weekend, they’ll be on the road for five of their next six games.
