The Hershey Bears dropped a 4-2 decision to the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday night. The Bears lost back-to-back games in regulation in combination with a loss on Wednesday night. It’s been a long time since that has happened, with the Bears not suffering losses in combination since the end of the 2022-23 season. Hershey will look to get back to their winning ways when the two teams rematch on Sunday evening.
Very Special Teams
The difference in Saturday’s game was special teams. Charlotte entered the game with the league’s best power play percentage while Hershey had killed every penalty they’ve faced in their last six games. The Checkers went two-for-two on the power play, playing a deciding factor on the game. John Leonard and Kyle Criscuolo struck on the man advantage, with Leonard tallying twice in the game.
Hershey fell behind by a 3-1 count after Criscuolo tallied in the third period. The Bears rallied late when penalty trouble hit the Checkers. Pierrick Dubé buried a perfect pass from Alex Limoges on a two-man advantage to cut the lead to one. It’s an important goal for Dubé and the offense, which had been carried by the team’s defense the last two games. It’s an important goal to get Dubé going after a somewhat quiet start to the year.
The Bears had a glorious chance to bring the game even at three when Ethen Frank was awarded a penalty shot. Unfortunately, Frank could not find the twine. For the second straight game, Hershey’s rally fell short with the goaltender pulled as Charlotte scored on the empty net for a 4-2 final score.
Snake Bitten Bears
Charlotte’s win sets the stage for a big game on Sunday evening. A win will bring the Checkers into first place in the Atlantic Division. They’ve had an impressive start to the season with a 6-1-0-0 record in seven games. Hershey, meanwhile, has seen their offense dry up since Mike Sgarbossa’s recall to the Washington Capitals last Sunday. The team got some good news with Luke Philp returning for the first time since opening weekend, but there’s a larger issue at play.
“Right now, we’re snake bitten a bit,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said. “The bounces aren’t going our way, we have to try to get through it. Their second goal went in off of our goalie’s skate. We have to fight through this. The last few years, I talked about adversity. We’re going through some of it right now, and that’s fine. Our guys who can score goals are snake bitten.”
“There’s no sense in crying over spilt milk. We have to move forward and forge ahead. I told the guys to take five or ten minutes with the game tonight, we’ll go over video tomorrow. We’d like to get the win tomorrow and get back on the winning side of things.”
Sunday Showdown
It’s a tough stretch for the Bears, who have scored two goals or fewer in four of their last five games. They were able to pull off two different 2-1 wins over Providence, but their depth has been tested in that time. Sunday’s game represents a chance to get back in the win column before a much-needed break this week.
Despite the loss, Hunter Shepard turned 25 saves on 28 shots. Hershey’s goaltender and 2023 Calder Cup Playoff MVP has been off to a strong start. Saturday’s game was just the second time in seven games that an opponent was able to score three goals on him. Shepard’s record drops to 5-2-0-0 as a result of the loss.
Hershey is hoping to get some positive news on the injury front. Goaltender Clay Stevenson returned to practice from an upper-body injury, but Mitch Gibson is likely getting Sunday’s start. The Bears are missing Vincent Iorio on recall along with Sgarbossa, while Nicky Leivermann, Jon McDonald, and Hardy Haman Aktell are out injured. It’s no excuse for this team to get back on track as soon as Sunday’s game.
