The Hershey Bears were 100 seconds away from their second straight shutout loss. On the road in a feisty game against the Syracuse Crunch, Hershey struggled to find offense. Hershey pulled off the win as Ethen Frank tied the game late and Bogdan Trineyev won it in extra time. Clay Stevenson made 24 saves, including a breakaway stop in overtime, to get the win.
Sensational Stevenson
It wasn’t an easy game for the Bears and Stevenson. Friday’s game featured lower shot counts for both teams, but Stevenson was there when his team needed him. After an early goal for Jesse Ylonen, Stevenson locked in and came up with every big stop his club needed. Stevenson had a tough start to the season including an injury which forced him to miss time. Although Hunter Shepard has had the lion’s share of the starts, Stevenson has allowed two goals or less in his last three games.
“I believe in my foundation as a goalie and who I am as a person,” Stevenson told Jesse Liebman after the game. “Couple games at the start, those aren’t what you want but I trusted my foundation, my game, and found a way to be successful. It’s a different mentality, not thinking too much about the game which was perhaps a problem early on. Right now, I’m playing free.”
Stevenson’s biggest stop came in the extra session. He stared down a breakaway from longtime NHL forward Conor Sheary from center ice. Sheary tried to go glove side, but Stevenson was up to the task and Hershey found the game-winning goal off the ensuing faceoff.
Battling Bears
Hershey’s goaltender combined with their defense to limit the offense and give the Bears a chance to force overtime. Todd Nelson went with a sizeable lineup both out of necessity and to counter the Crunch. Syracuse boasts former Hershey tough guy Kale Kessy, and there’s bad blood between the two teams from their previous outing.
The two teams nearly came to blows a few times in this game. A donnybrook nearly broke out as both teams headed to the locker room after two periods, with Kessy matching up with Dalton Smith. Cooler heads prevailed eventually and there’d be no further altercations as both teams locked in for the final frame.
Hershey was able to get set up in the offensive zone and get Stevenson to the bench for the extra attacker. Mike Sgarbossa, Hershey’s assist leader, found his 20th helper of the year with a picture-perfect pass to Ethen Frank. Frank found the back of the net for his league-leading 19th goal of the season.
In overtime, Hershey found the win right after Stevenson’s sensational save. Henrik Rybinski took a stretch pass from Vincent Iorio, spinning off the pressure. He’d find Trineyev streaking in, and a quick move beat Matt Tomkins for the extra point.
Sweet as Victory
Hershey banked their 18th win of the season and moved back into a tie with the Calgary Wranglers for first place in the AHL. Despite some hiccups, the Bears have won four of their last five games to start December. There’s been plenty of areas for improvement for this team to match last year, but it’s elite company to be in.
Friday’s game marked the last time the Bears will be on the road for about a month. They’ll play eight straight games at Giant Center starting Saturday against Charlotte. The Checkers will be the first team to host the Bears in 2025 as the two division foes continue their rivalry.
