The Hershey Bears are coming back to Pennsylvania winners of nine straight games. The Chocolate and White were in Charlotte for the second of two games against the Checkers on Saturday night. This rematch got feisty at times as the two Atlantic Division rivals got acquainted quickly. Ethen Frank tallied Hershey’s first hat trick of the season and Clay Stevenson posted 34 saves in back-to-back starts to lift Hershey to a 5-2 decision.
Nelson’s Notes
Bears head coach Todd Nelson has routinely desired to see his team take their play to another level. Based on Hershey’s performances of late, another level should be feared by the rest of the American Hockey League. It’s all part of Nelson’s desire for his team to be the best version of themselves.
“We played a decent game last night, special teams were alright,” Nelson said of Friday’s game. “I thought we just played well enough to win. I think we have a lot more left to give, we addressed that in the meeting this morning. The guys understand that. If we play just good enough to win, it’s not going to be good enough because other teams are going to get better. We want to make sure we keep pushing our guys, but all in all, it was a good road game. I’ll take a 4-2 win on the road in Charlotte any day.”
Checking the Checkers
Charlotte got the start they were looking for when Uvis Balinskis tallied his first AHL goal in his first AHL game. The Checkers need points in the Atlantic Division standings and had hope with their start that they’d break their recent malaise. Their start was bolstered by outshooting the Bears in all three periods by a collective 36-21 count and owning possession in the first.
However, it’s impossible to count these Hershey Bears out of any game at any time. The Checkers learned this lesson the hard way as the Bears rattled off four straight goals to seize control of the game. It all started when Hershey’s second line forced a turnover in the Charlotte zone. Alex Limoges and Joe Snively pried the puck loose, with the latter centering the puck to a wide-open Aaron Ness for the tying goal. It’s the first goal of the season for the tenured defenseman.
Frank Finish
Much as Pierrick Dube took over the game a day prior, Ethen Frank was the man of the hour on Saturday. His first goal came courtesy of a sweet feed from Mike Sgarbossa, who froze the defense and found the 30-goal scorer from a year prior to bury a hard shot. Frank tallied again before the period was out by picking a corner on rookie goaltender Ludovic Waeber on a great outlet pass by Vincent Iorio.
Hershey added one more in the third period as Snively deflected a shot from Jimmy Huntington at the side of the net for his seventh goal of the season. The Bears found themselves up 4-1 in the third period, and once again it’d get cut to a two-goal lead as Lucas Carlsson’s shot found a home through significant traffic.
This time, the Bears nipped it in the bud as Frank capped off the hat trick with an empty net goal. Frank made the hats fly during the regular season finale last season and is well on his way to matching his previous totals. Tonight’s effort moves him into the team lead in scoring with 11 goals, one over Dube from his performance a day earlier at ten total. Frank’s goal moves him into a tie for fifth in league scoring.
Sweet Success
The win moves Hershey to 18-4-0-0, winners of nine consecutive games and ahead of the next team in the AHL by six points. The Bears are already off to the best start in their 86-year history, and the beat marches on. Stevenson did an excellent job in goal, unexpectedly making his second straight start in as many days. The Washington Capitals had to recall Hunter Shepard hours before the game due to illness, forcing Stevenson into taking both games on the trip. Shepard narrowly made it to the Caps game against the Vegas Golden Knights to back up, arriving with his gear five minutes before the puck was scheduled to drop.
Hershey concludes their road trip when they take on the Syracuse Crunch on Friday.
