The Hershey Bears concluded the 2024-25 regular season on Saturday night at Giant Center. Hershey rested many of their regulars after clinching the Atlantic Division title a day prior. In their finale, the Bears opted to utilize their youngest players in large quantities. Those players played a big role in the game, a 4-3 setback with a lot of intrigue. Hershey will await their first playoff opponent with a layoff ahead.
Youngest Bears Take the Reins
Saturday’s game featured the AHL debuts of Ludwig Persson, Terik Parascak, and Seth Eisele in goal. Other young players, like Ryan Chesley, Leon Muggli, and David Gucciardi suited up in their latest games. The young players allowed the veterans to take the night off with little consequences to the standings. Several factored in, with Persson recording his first AHL point with a secondary assist to Luke Philp’s goal.
Chesley took big minutes as a result of the lineup after praise from head coach Todd Nelson a day prior. He tallied an assist on the same Philp goal and showed poise at the point on the blue line. All the same, Chesley took his lumps in the game with a couple goals ending as a result of some mistakes. It’s all part of the process for Chesley, who is developing towards being a big part of the team going forward. The group of youngsters joining Hershey will be essential going forward.
“I thought our young guys did a good job tonight,” Nelson said. “We had some young kids out there, so did they, and it was an entertaining hockey game. It came down to special teams tonight, they got a couple power play goals and scored shorthanded. I thought five-on-five, we played fine.”
Roe’s Final (Regular Season) Game
Saturday’s game was the sendoff for veteran forward Garrett Roe, who plans to retire after this season. While it’s not the last time he will don a Bears sweater with the postseason around the corner, it’s his final regular season game. Roe’s son, Landon, joined his father on the blue line before the game and the team honored him in a variety of ways. He was named the game’s first star and was celebrated by his teammates.
“It says more about the team that it does about me,” Roe said of the team’s reaction to FOX43. “As a team, we care about each other. These guys, they’ve taken care of me, and I try to take care of them. It’s a family environment.”
Some of the team’s antics included special t-shirts with Roe’s stats on the back. Before the third period started, his line joined him and mimicked his stretching on the ice. The 37-year-old Roe skated on a line with 18-year-old Parascak as a key veteran in the lineup. Roe started his time in the AHL with the Phantoms back when they were in Adirondack. In his final game against his old team, Roe was excused late in regulation with a penalty.
“What a great career he’s had, played a lot of games over in Europe. We got him last year, I didn’t know what to expect. He’s such a solid, character guy in our dressing room and lays it all on the ice when he’s out there. Leads on and off the ice. I think he was emotional, hopefully we can go after another Cup for him.”
Roe’s Impact in Hershey
Although it’s just Roe’s second season in Hershey, he’s made his time count. Roe etched himself in Bears history last summer with the overtime-winner in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s the first goal of its kind since Eric Fehr scored in a similar situation in the 2006 penultimate round.
With the postseason around the corner, Nelson has the challenge of assembling the lineup for the first game. Veterans like Aaron Ness and Mike Sgarbossa are trending towards returning from injury. Roster spots will be at a premium, particularly for veterans, but Roe will continue to be relied upon no matter his role.
“Our team’s going to look a little different for the playoffs,” Nelson said. “We’ll work on that over the next ten days. Roesy is just a really good pro, he’s a good mentor for the young guys. He’s been like that ever since we’ve had him in Hershey. Congratulations, Roesy, it’s a heck of a career you’ve put together.”
Playoff Preparation
The Bears will be idle until they know their first opponent in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Hershey has a bye from the first round of the postseason. They will play the lower-seeded team to emerge from the series between Providence and Springfield as well as Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley. Both series will last no longer than April 27.
Nelson already has an idea of how he plans to handle the extra time. It’s a familiar one that he’s crafted to perfection the last two years. It will feature a mixture of rest, conditioning, and getting the competitive juices flowing for his team.
“We’re going to give them a couple days off right now to rest up,” Nelson said. “Then, we’ll go to work. There’s enough time to get some conditioning in before we play our first game. The guys all know that; they call it “hell week” next week. We’re going to mix in some hard work with some rest. We’re going to follow the same template from the last couple years because it definitely worked.”
