It was the final game before the All-Star break for the Hershey Bears on Saturday night. The Chocolate and White hosted the Bridgeport Islanders before a sold-out Giant Center with revenge on the mind. Head coach Todd Nelson called their loss a day earlier “unacceptable”, setting the stage for a big bounce-back game. Hershey struck twice in the first five minutes and didn’t look back in a 4-0 final score. Hunter Shepard earned his second shutout of the season with 25 saves.
Don’t Poke the Bears
Nelson had some choice words to describe Hershey’s loss on Friday against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. His team might have lost just their eighth game in regulation, but it’s a symptom of a large concern to the bench boss. He applauded the test against an Islanders team that is not a pushover after beating the Bears earlier in the year.
“They won 76% of the puck battles,” Nelson said of the game on Friday. “That’s unacceptable. It shows that if you don’t work hard, it’s not going to happen. It’s a good wake-up call for our hockey team. Although it’s one game, it’s some adversity. Guys are excited to go on the All-Star break, but they can’t go on vacation too early.”
“It doesn’t matter who you play, if you don’t put forth the effort, you’re not going to win. We’re playing against a team that works extremely hard. What they lack in a bit of talent, they make up for in work ethic. It’s all about effort tonight.”
Driving the Limo
It’s safe to say the Bears responded in a big way. Their lineup was bolstered by the return of Alex Limoges, who has been absent since January 7. He scored the winning goal in overtime on Teddy Bear Toss Night but was injured during practice that week. Despite the absence of about a month, he still ranks fifth on this Hershey team in scoring and adds another dimension to this team. Limoges picked up right where he left off with Hershey’s fourth goal of the game, his 11th of the year.
Hershey hit the ground running with two goals inside of the first five minutes of Saturday’s tilt. Ivan Miroshnichenko made an excellent centering pass to Pierrick Dubé, who snapped a lightning-fast shot into the net. It’s Dubé’s 24th goal of the season and certainly is a wonder how he was snubbed from the All-Star weekend.
Sixty Minute Effort
Not long after that, Hershey doubled their lead with a perfectly placed shot by Aaron Ness. The former Bridgeport captain scored his third goal of the season off the post and in from the wing. The Bears added a goal from Mike Vecchione, reunited with Mike Sgarbossa and Ethen Frank on the top line. Vecchione has heated up in recent time with four points in his last four games including three goals. Sgarbossa added his 36th assist of the year on the goal. Among other offensive showings, both Joe Snively and Hendrix Lapierre tallied two assists.
One of Shepard’s biggest moments was a first period save on a penalty kill. In an eerie coincidence, Shepard happened to stop Carsen Twarynski on a clear-cut breakaway from his own blue line. The stop was nearly identical to the stop he made in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals when Twarynski was a member of the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Watch both clips before and be the judge.
Limoges added the final goal that was needed, and Shepard stopped every one of the 25 shots fired his way. The Calder Cup MVP was named Saturday’s first star for his efforts. Hershey earned their 36th win of the campaign and some well-deserved praise from Nelson. The bench boss moved into sole possession of eighth all-time in the AHL in coaching wins with 389 ahead of a long flight west.
California Dreaming
“That’s a hard-working team over there,” Nelson said. “You saw how hard they worked tonight, they never give up. We had some major defensive lapses where Shep was there to bail us out, he played a great game. I’m glad that he earned a shutout, he deserves it.”
“They responded,” Nelson said of his team’s performance. “Mentally, we need to get away from the game. We’ve played a lot of hockey, we freshened up the lines a little bit. Getting Alex Limoges back into the lineup adds another dimension to our lineup. Guys get excited for the new combinations.”
Although Nelson’s postgame thoughts were brief, it was for good reason. Hershey’s bench boss will turn around quickly to fly across the country to get to San Jose for the AHL All-Star Game. The Bears have not been strangers on traveling to California in the past year, with a sizeable group traveling to this year’s event. It’s a hectic schedule, but at the end of the day, it’s a worthwhile event across the board.
“I’ll be happy when I land in San Jose tomorrow, I won’t be happy when I wake up at four in the morning. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s a little hectic getting out there, we’re all on the same flight together connecting through Dallas on a three-hour layover. Once we get there, things happen pretty quick. I think we have enough time to go to the hotel, get changed into our suits, and go right to the rink for the skills competition. Once you get there, it’s a celebration of the skill level across the league. Everyone wants to have fun in this.”
Next Up
The Bears will be idle until Friday, when they’ll return with a major test against the Providence Bruins. That game kicks off a five-game road trip with 20 days between games at Giant Center. Although the Bruins are 13 points below the Bears in the standings, it will be a big test to return to. Providence extended their winning streak to six games, with a mark of 8-1-1-0 in their last ten outings.
Hershey will return to practice on Thursday ahead of the game, with the All-Star group rejoining them in Providence directly. For now, Hershey has a mark of 36-8-0-2, already putting half a season’s worth of wins in the book at this break. It’s a well-deserved break intersecting a tough test, one for another day for the Chocolate and White.
