It’s fair to say that Sunday’s big win on Teddy Bear Toss Night would always be a tough act to follow up for the Hershey Bears. The team had a matchup against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Tuesday to conclude a lengthy homestand. Hershey let a big opportunity slip through their fingers in a narrow 5-4 regulation loss on home ice. It’s an ugly loss by most metrics ahead of a difficult weekend trip to Charlotte.
No Shortcuts to Success
The Bears fell behind early in the game and never could quite right the ship. The Phantoms broke a 1-1 tie with two goals separated by 39 seconds on Hunter Shepard. Elliot Desnoyers and Ethan Samson found the back of the net followed by a goal from Emil Andrae early in the second. Hershey slowly climbed from the three-goal deficit with a goal in a big night from Ethan Bear. The most aptly named player on Hershey’s roster had a goal and two assists including his 100th professional helper.
Ultimately, a goal from Jacob Gaucher stood after review, and a pair of tallies from Mike Sgarbossa did not erase the deficit. The Bears had their chances, with six minutes on the power play in the final frame including a brief two-man advantage. Hershey’s power play came up empty in six total tries as a deciding factor in this loss. The Bears showed improvement over the weekend, but it fell flat again on Tuesday.
It was an equally down performance for Shepard. Hershey’s steady backstop was pulled in the third period after allowing five goals on 20 shots. It’s usually a tall task for the Bears to score on Cal Petersen, but despite four goals, it wasn’t enough. Clay Stevenson made five saves in relief in the third.
“I didn’t like some of the goals,” Bears head coach Nelson said on the goalie swap. “Also to spark the team. We scored early on but couldn’t find the equalizer.”
Disappointing Bears
“We can’t expect to go down 4-1 in the second period and come back in a game like that,” Nelson said. “Anytime you give up five goals in your own building, it’s inexcusable.”
“I think we wanted an easy night. The Providence games were a lot of emotion where the guys were engaged. There was physicality in those games and there wasn’t a lot of it today. It comes down to wall battles and puck battles. It’s disappointing, obviously. We finally score four goals on Cal Petersen, who’s been our nemesis, but we give up five. It can’t happen.”
“We weren’t engaged tonight. Some guys threw no hitters out there tonight. All you have to do is go through the body; it’s a simple game. We fell behind the eight ball and it’s hard to come back.”
The game is a missed opportunity to gain some ground in the Atlantic Division race ahead of a key weekend. Hershey had the opportunity to move as far as ten points ahead of the Charlotte Checkers by winning these three games. Instead, it gives the Checkers another game in-hand to pull ahead in the standings.
We’re Halfway There
Hershey will hit the halfway point of the season at the conclusion of Friday’s game in Charlotte. It’s about as critical of a matchup as can be in the regular season for both teams. The Checkers can pull even with five games in-hand over the Bears. Meanwhile, two regulation wins pulls the Bears ahead by eight points and puts the pressure back on their foes.
Hershey’s inconsistency has been a sticking point for most of the season. Although they are in first place, they’ve played many more games and will watch teams catch up in February. It is a fool’s errand to consider this lead safe by any means. There’s plenty of games to play this season, but lost points like these can easily come back to haunt the Bears.
