The Hershey Bears were back in action on Sunday night against the visiting Cleveland Monsters. The Chocolate and White looked to avenge an opening night loss a night prior and break their scoreless drought to open the new season. It was dicey at times, but the Bears got the monkey off their back and earned a 5-2 win to bank some points on opening weekend. Hershey’s top line came through in a big way, with Ethen Frank, Mike Sgarbossa, and Mike Vecchione doing their damage.
Trading Blows Early
Hershey got on the board early thanks to a little bit of puck luck. Defenseman Hardy Haman Aktell tallied his first American Hockey League goal with a shot from the point that hit a Cleveland skater in front of Pavel Cajan and went in. Rookie forward Ivan Miroshnichenko collected an assist for his first point in the AHL alongside Pierrick Dube’s first point as a Bear. Although it wasn’t the prettiest goal of the game, it was an important one to get the Bears going.
Plain and simple, the Bears needed their best players to play at their best this weekend. Much like he did in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals, Frank scored a big goal on the power play to steer the game in the right direction. Sgarbossa and Alex Limoges teamed up to find the 30-goal scorer a season ago alone with time and space, and he’d make no mistake to double the Bears’ lead.
Cleveland wouldn’t go away in this game, with the final score perhaps overshadowing what was a solid effort. Jake Christiansen’s initial shot from the point was stopped by goaltender Clay Stevenson, but the rebound sat loose just long enough for Brendan Gaunce to clean up the rebound. Hershey countered when Aaron Ness sprung Frank and Vecchione on a two-on-one rush, with Frank finding Vecchione for his first of the year. The goal was Vecchione’s 100th such tally at the AHL level and his 100th point as a Bear in a duo of milestones on this night as he did his signature roar celebration after the goal.
Frank’s Faster
The second period was perhaps the difference-maker in this game. The Monsters cut the lead to one goal when Marcus Bjork cut in from the point and beat Stevenson from between the faceoff circles. Cleveland was looking for a tie game when Josh Dunne skated in on a shorthanded breakaway. However, Frank, who won the AHL All-Star Game’s Fastest Skater Competition earlier this calendar year, hustled back and disrupted Dunne with perfect timing on a stick check cleanly to prevent a quality chance.
Instead, Hershey extended their lead at the tail end of the same power play when Hendrix Lapierre found Dube in the slot for his first goal as a Bear. The duo previously played together at the junior level during the 2020-21 season, and the chemistry was all too evident on the goal. The Bears struck twice on the power play in four opportunities while killing all four penalties they were assessed in a solid special teams showing.
Bears Bury It
The Bears put the game away in the third period as the Monsters looked to pull Cajan for an extra attacker. Hershey’s top line pressed hard, keeping the goaltender on the ice and beating him for the fifth time on this night when Sgarbossa whipped a shot past him on the rush. It’s Sgarbossa’s first tally for the Bears since April 28 in Game One of their first series with the Charlotte Checkers as he missed subsequent playoff rounds due to injury. Sunday’s game proved the former 30-goal scorer is back in top shape for 2023-24.
“Special teams basically won us the game,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said. “We have more weapons this year than last year. We can move them around and try them in different spots. Lapierre was playing net front, he made a nice play on Dube’s goal, it’s a nice luxury to have.”
“There was a bit of pressure that was off of us (after scoring the first goal). We were hoping we’d score a goal in the first period because we didn’t want to get booed off the ice after the first intermission. The guys settled in, we didn’t turn the puck over like last night, I think guys were trying too hard to force plays and be the hero. Tonight, we stuck together as a team and got the job done.”
Who’s Hungry?
Hershey banked two important points during opening night. Only one team in the Atlantic Division won both their games in the Hartford Wolf Pack, and that parity adds some early perspective to just how tough the early stages of the season can be. The Bears have a tough task of facing the Providence Bruins twice on the road next weekend followed by an afternoon showdown with the Bridgeport Islanders in the team’s first set of three games in as many nights.
Before that, though, the Bears will do some team bonding in addition to practice this week. Nelson mentioned that Monday is his season-opening tradition of having the players and their families for a pig roast. It’s a tradition that Nelson has held for a while as a head coach, having done the same prior to the start of last season and doing again one more time before Game Seven of the Calder Cup Finals. The event gives the team a chance to get to know each other away from the ice and bond a little bit as the team forges a new identity in its title defense.
