The Hershey Bears were on the road for the second of four consecutive games on Friday night. The Bears visited the Charlotte Checkers for the first time this season to renew their rivalry. Hershey entered play on the team’s best start in franchise history and kept the good times rolling with a 4-2 win. The decision makes it eight straight wins and banks two more valuable points in the Atlantic Division standings. Clay Stevenson made 27 saves on 29 shots in the win while Spencer Knight took the loss with 20 saves on 24 shots.
King Me
Friday’s showdown marked the first time the Bears returned to Bojangles Coliseum since dispatching the Checkers last spring. The two teams are the most recent clubs in the Atlantic Division to win the Calder Cup, and the rivalry is more intense than ever. Hershey opened the scoring just over halfway through the first period when Riley Sutter got time and space in front of the net and beat Knight. The goal is Sutter’s fourth of the season and has put him on pace to eclipse his career bests in terms of production.
Hershey doubled their lead minutes later as Ivan Miroshnichenko potted his sixth of the season. Vincent Iorio’s point shot was blocked, and the Russian rookie snuck into the slot to bury it. Miroshnichenko has been hot of late, with Friday marking his second straight multi-point game. Overall, he has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 20 games played. The Bears have found a secret weapon with their fourth line as Sutter, Miroshnichenko, and Matt Strome scored points.
Dube Doubles Up
Both teams found the back of the net in the second period. The Checkers got on the board with Patrick Khodorenko’s fifth of the season on a deflection in front of Stevenson to cut the lead to one. The rest of the second would become the Pierrick Dube show as the second year forward tallied twice. His first strike came on the power play as Mike Sgarbossa and company caught the Checkers in a line change. Everyone in the building thought he’d shoot the puck, but instead he found Dube all alone to whip the puck into the net. His second goal came off of a scramble in front of the net, firing it off the back bar and in.
Two goals to Dube’s total gives him ten so far this season, moving him into the team lead and tied with two players for seventh in the AHL. The Capitals got him on a steal over the summer, signing him to an entry-level contract after his original team let him go. Now that he’s moved into double digits in terms of scoring, Dube is eyeing his total of 16 goals from a season ago. His scoring ability has been a massive addition to the Bears.
Do It Again
Charlotte pulled the deficit to two in the third on a goal from Mackie Samoskevich. Stevenson shut the door as he did several times with some key saves after that point. His best included a massive rebound stop in the final minute of play to secure the win. Hershey moves to 17-4-0-0 on the season, the best mark in the AHL at the first day of December. Charlotte drops to 10-8-0-0 and sits in seventh place in the Atlantic with the loss. The good news? Two points is all that separates them from as high as third place in the division.
It sets the stage for an important rematch for both teams. The Checkers are in desperate need of points with the door open for a contender to emerge in the Atlantic. Only Hershey and Hartford have any form of separation in the standings at this early juncture, and today’s points save a headache down the stretch. Although the Checkers are right there, they’re in danger of falling behind if they stall out for too long. The puck is set to drop on the second game at 6:00 PM EST on Saturday evening.
