On the surface, nothing appears to be wrong for the Hershey Bears. The defending back-to-back Calder Cup Champions sit atop the Atlantic Division with a record of 28-13-5-0. The mark is good for a tie for second place in the AHL overall. There’s nothing to be concerned about, right? It’s a strange situation, but concern levels are high after two brutal losses in the last four games for the Bears. The good news is that the team has time to turn a corner before the playoffs come into view.
Defensive Debacles
It’s been a very mixed bag for the Bears in just their last four games. Although two wins and two losses doesn’t look too bad from a distance, digging deeper will raise some eyebrows. Hershey has been outscored in that stretch by a collective count of 22-10. They’ve been shut out twice in separate debacles, a 9-0 beating in Wilkes-Barre on January 29 and 5-0 to Syracuse in their last game. Both of their wins were 5-4 decisions over Bridgeport, a team that has the sixth-fewest goals scored in the league.
The defensive stats are not good across the board. Hershey has allowed 140 goals through 46 games, only 11 fewer than they allowed all season a year ago. It’s reflected through goaltending stats for Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson, who finished first and second in stats a year ago, respectively. Neither goaltender even ranks among the top twenty with drastically worse numbers. Some of the puzzle is on the goaltenders, but it’s very much a reflection of the team in front of them as well.
In Hershey’s last eight games, they’ve allowed at least three goals. They only have one shutout win way back on October 20. Hershey has been involved in a ton of games in which they’ve scored the last of many goals in a single game. It’s a style of game that earns points in the regular season but more often than not does not last long beyond it.
Roster Carousel
It’s safe to say the Bears have gone through their fair share of roster turmoil. In the AHL, it’s common for a team’s roster to be shaped significantly over the course of a year. The Bears built a strong roster over the summer that’s been whittled away this season. Midseason departures of Logan Day and Hardy Haman Aktell combined with a long-term injury to Jake Massie has left Hershey threadbare on the blue line. Ethen Frank was called up after a stellar season; he’ll need waivers to return, a gamble that might not happen.
Hershey is in a tricky situation as a result. The players lost filled necessary gaps for the Bears. They have to utilize their five veterans each game with others sitting out. Day filled the role of a veteran exempt player who could dress in addition to those five. When illness hit the Bears on February 8, the team had to skate a player short despite two healthy extras. That was due to the veteran rule with Dalton Smith and Garrett Roe sitting out.
Bears head coach Todd Nelson had harsh words for the players on the ice on Saturday. He didn’t let the circumstances cut the group any slack.
“I’m not going to use an excuse,” Nelson said. “Flu bug going around, playing short. I don’t care. The guys who we count upon to go out and do a job to provide offense were not even in the building tonight. They didn’t even show up. Our best player was (Justin) Nachbaur, who we called up from South Carolina. He played like he cared, no one else did.”
“I was looking for guys to throw out there in the third period, no one wanted to be on the ice. It’s embarrassing.”
Bears Hibernation?
Hershey has had a worrying trend in recent time. In the team’s most recent shutout defeats, they’ve often looked lifeless and allowed bad starts to snowball out of control. A year ago, Hershey didn’t lose back-to-back games in regulation let alone losses of such disparity. When asked about the losses, Nelson shared the concern about the way the team is trending.
“It’s very concerning,” Nelson said. “That was an embarrassment out there. The fans should get their money back. They come out and support us on a night I hear that the roads are icy. It wasn’t just the score; we got hemmed in our own zone in the second period and Clay is making back door saves. We were porous defensively.”
“(A response) has to come from within the room. I can go in there and yell and scream all I want. I did it last game to get their attention. It has to come from the leadership group and every individual. I don’t want to hear that we played short, and guys weren’t feeling well; you have to play through those things.”
Hershey recalled four players from their ECHL affiliate in South Carolina to ensure a full lineup on Tuesday. It gives the team a chance to evaluate and utilize their depth to dress hungry players. Tuesday’s lineup will be intriguing to see if any regulars are in the press box.
Telling Test Ahead
The Bears have a crucial stretch to test their mettle in Atlantic Division play. They’ll take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a home-and-home set this week. The Penguins are the busier of the two teams with two more games in addition to matchups against the Bears. It’s a chance to set the record straight after a devastating loss two weeks prior. Wilkes-Barre has five games in-hand, which they’ll play soon.
It’s a chance for the Bears to pull ahead not only in points, but get some peace of mind. Winning the head-to-head matchups could add as many as four points to their existing lead of five. They’d worry far less about out-of-town scores with a comfortable standings advantage. The Penguins have won three games in a row going into Tuesday’s matchup, making it an early playoff preview.
Hershey will go to Charlotte for another pair of games against the Checkers. It’ll be another tall test against another team pursuing them in the standings. The Bears took a pair of impressive wins in Charlotte in January, but their struggles will make the points important. It’s all a prelude to a busy month of March that will test the team even further.
The good news? There’s plenty of time to get back on track with over a quarter of the season remaining. The Bears are battling for one of the coveted playoff byes in the division. They aren’t out of the race by any means and can still turn this around. There’s still the potential to add before the March 7 trade deadline and keep the team on target heading down the stretch.
