The Hershey Bears made their first-ever trip to Iowa in their only Western Conference matchup of the season against the Wild. Despite the lack of familiarity to the Bears, one player made a homecoming in a big way. Ethen Frank, a native of Papillion, Nebraska, had friends and family in attendance and showed up in a big way. Frank tallied a hat trick and finished with four points in a 7-2 win for the Bears. The count matches Hershey’s best in a single game and moves the Bears one win within 50 on the season.
Frank’s Flying
Frank got the onslaught of Hershey goals started by burying the team’s first shot of the game. His line entered the Iowa zone on an odd man rush with Frank charging down the right side. Pierrick Dubé’s shot hit a defender and bounced right to Frank for his first of the night. Being close to home seemed to be a power-up for Frank, who registered a team-best seven shots on goal in Friday’s game.
The Bears entered the second period up by a single goal at 2-1. In the previous two matchups between Hershey and Iowa at Giant Center, that was the final score in both outings. Frank bucked that trend by tallying his second of the game. He took a lead pass from Lucas Johansen and maneuvered his way into the slot. The defense backed off to guard against a pass and Frank got the goaltender to open the pads. It was a sensational play all around from Frank to extend Hershey’s lead.
Frank completed the hat trick before the second period concluded. This time, he’d bump the puck to Mike Vecchione and move in from the point around a defender. Vecchione fed it back to Frank with newfound space, and his elite shot did the rest. Frank ripped a shot past Jesper Wallstedt to send the hats flying. With more than 30 friends and family in attendance and plenty of Bears fans making the trip, plenty of headgear hit the ice for Frank’s third career hat trick. He has 28 goals this season and takes the title as top goal scorer for the Chocolate and White.
Bring the Roar
Hershey’s top line brought their A-game on Friday. Vecchione and Dubé each had three points in the win as did Joe Snively. Ten different Bears players registered a point and four other players tallied goals. Logan Day had Hershey’s second goal of the game and a power play goal from Alex Limoges helped open the big lead. Limoges tallied his 22nd goal of the season on a pretty deflection from Snively, a pass with purpose for the redirect.
The Bears had a solid performance up and down their lineup on Friday. Henrik Rybinski tallied the team’s seventh goal of the game on a pretty lead pass by Ryan Hofer. Rybinski cut in and chipped the puck high from in close to add the cherry on top of a big win. One of the lone bright spots for Iowa on this night was Vladislav Firstov’s first AHL goal in the third period.
50 In Sight
The win moves the Bears to 49-12-0-5 on the season, and their next win will be their 50th. Hershey’s magic number to clinch the regular season title as the AHL’s top team reduces to just five points. Any combination of points earned by the Bears or those lost by the Coachella Valley Firebirds will reduce that number further. Hershey last won the AHL title during the shortened 2020-21 season as the highest honor they could achieve. Prior to that year, the last time the Bears sat atop the league was the 2009-10 season, which proved to be an extremely memorable one. The Bears clinched the Atlantic Division title on Tuesday, the latest achievement for this impressive group.
Hershey entered the game missing key personnel on recall to their NHL affiliate in Washington. The Capitals recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard after Tuesday’s win, setting the stage for Clay Stevenson to go back-to-back in goal this weekend. Stevenson faced just 17 shots on goal in Friday’s game, with the light workload assisting him with more action. Garin Bjorklund serves as his backup this weekend on recall from the South Carolina Stingrays. Washington still has Matthew Phillips and Vincent Iorio on their roster, two important players for Hershey going down the stretch and into the playoffs. The Caps are in the midst of a battle for the playoffs, which would have implications on when the Bears might receive any players back into their lineup.
