The Hershey Bears took care of business on Saturday night against the Belleville Senators. After dropping the previous matchup a day earlier, Hershey looked to end the weekend on a high note. The teams traded goals, but a strong second period led the way to a 5-3 win for the visiting Bears. Five different players scored for the injury-plagued Bears, who have at least a point in seven straight games. Hunter Shepard made 17 saves in the win.
Roaring on the Road
The Bears dressed all of their available healthy skaters for Saturday’s game. Hershey dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Chase Priskie playing forward. The team’s list of unavailable players remained lengthy on Saturday, with Henrik Rybinski the latest injured player. Despite that, Hershey’s lineup featured plenty of players from their Calder Cup teams.
It wasn’t the best start for the Bears, who trailed after twenty minutes. Wyatt Bongiovanni struck early on a power play to give Belleville a 1-0 lead. The forward has eight goals in his last seven games including two hat tricks. Hershey trailed despite a 12-4 shot advantage but entered the middle stanza on the power play. Ethan Bear struck 50 seconds into the frame to even the count at one with a bounce in front.
Michael Simpson put on a clinic in this game as Hershey tilted the ice into his zone. Bear’s goal was the first time Hershey solved him since he took over for the second period on Friday. Much like a day prior, Hershey got a lengthy crack at a two-man advantage. This time, they’d find the net as Priskie tallied his eighth power play goal of the year.
Bears Buck the Trend
Much like the day before, Hershey surrendered a goal shortly after the power play. Stephen Halliday, who won the game on Friday, batted a rebound past Shepard to even the score at two. It was a tough break for Shepard and the Bears, who had not allowed a shot on goal up to that sequence with 3:24 remaining.
However, Hershey got a critical break to take the lead back. Jon McDonald drove the net and stashed a rebound of Dalton Smith’s shot for his second AHL goal. McDonald tallied his first goal a week prior, and it put the Bears ahead with just six seconds left in the second.
In the final frame, Hershey struck early to establish a two-goal lead. Zac Funk, playing in his second game back from a stint in the ECHL, scored his second AHL goal on the rush. However, just under three minutes later, Belleville struck back to again reduce the lead to one.
Hershey finally bucked the trend and poured cold water over the prospect of another collapse. Garrett Roe led the charge up the ice on a two-on-one, threading a pass to Mike Vecchione. Hershey’s Game Seven hero in the 2023 Calder Cup Finals beat Simpson for his 11th goal of the year. This lead would be one the Bears would protect the rest of the way.
“I love the resiliency of this group,” “A lot of guys are out right now due to injury, guys are battling injuries playing here. We’re not happy with the two overtime losses giving up leads. If we play our game, the only team that can beat us is the Bears.”
Tallying Points
Hershey ends the trip through Canada with four of six possible points. While they left a couple points on the table, their point streak extends to seven games (5-0-2-0). Although most of their division foes have games in-hand, it’s their task to earn points to keep up with Hershey. The Bears went two-for-six on the power play in a resilient showing. Despite allowing three goals, Shepard made some key in the third period to preserve the lead.
One of those teams chasing the Bears is the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hershey will visit Mohegan Arena to play Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday in the latest I-81 rivalry game. The Penguins have seven fewer games played than the Bears and look to move up the standings. Hershey is set to gain the services of Pierrick Dubé back from suspension for the game.
Among standout performances, Vecchione, Spencer Smallman, and Ivan Miroshnichenko had multi-point games. Hershey will be home for two weeks following Wednesday’s game, with only three games in that span.
