It was matchup ten of 12 between the Hershey Bears and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Giant Center on Friday night. Both teams entered play missing significant personnel, but the two teams don’t need much to find animosity. Chase Priskie broke a 1-1 deadlock in the third period on the power play, and the Bears added two empty net goals in a 4-1 win. The win is Hershey’s 40th of the season and extends their point streak to four games.
Tired and Travel Tested
The Bears made their way home after a long road trip through Canada. Hershey made the 499-mile trip from Laval back to the Sweetest Place on Earth through the day on Thursday. Both teams were missing key personnel for the game, with Wilkes-Barre losing top scorer Alex Nylander in a trade and Hershey missing Hendrix Lapierre on recall. Other players absent for Wilkes-Barre included Sam Poulin, Sam Houde, and Marc Johnstone. Hershey missed the services of Ethen Frank, Riley Sutter, and Dylan McIlrath for the game.
Despite the lack of key players, the two teams dueled in a 1-1 stalemate for the majority of the game. Wilkes-Barre got on the board first when Jonathan Gruden got a shorthanded breakaway and beat Clay Stevenson. The goal is Gruden’s 12th of the season and his second in the regular season series against the Bears, giving him five points total.
New Faces to the Rescue
The Bears tied the game later in the opening stanza with Ryan Hofer tallying his third goal of the season. Hershey’s rookie forward ripped a shot low through Joel Blomqvist’s pads, another sound depth contribution for the Chocolate and White. Hofer is one of several Bears players who have elevated roles with so many regulars out of the lineup and got an important tally in this one.
With so many players out of the lineup, both teams relied on their defensive prowess in the second half. Neither team reached double digits in terms of shots in any period in this game. Both teams had numerous opportunities on the power play, icing different looks. Hershey would be the only team to cash in, with defenseman Chase Priskie burying his sixth of the year. The goal stood up as the game-winner, giving Hershey three wins in their last four games.
Hang It In a Museum
Hershey added a pair of empty net goals in the final minutes of play to extend the lead to 4-1. Matt Strome, who sparked the building with a scrum preceding the Priskie goal, tallied the first one. Had the penalty been for fighting, Strome would have registered a Gordie Howe hat trick. Bogdan Trineyev tallied his second goal in as many games to further add to depth contributions.
“It was huge, a total team effort,” Nelson said of the game. “We had players playing in different spots. The power plays tonight, it wasn’t as fluid as we’d like because we have guys in different spots who don’t normally play on the power play. That’s why it looked a bit clunky, but we still ended up getting that power play goal to go ahead. All in all, it was a great effort from everybody. As I always say, they can’t all be Picassos.”
Up Next
Hershey took their eighth win in ten tries versus Wilkes-Barre so far this season. The I-81 rivalry will not be renewed until the late stages of the season. They’ll meet up for a home-and-home set at the end of the regular season on April 13 and 14. Those games could serve as a potential playoff preview with both teams among the best in the Atlantic Division.
The Bears will cap off a stretch of five games in eight days on Saturday when they host the Rochester Americans. It’ll be a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals from last spring, with the Bears winning the only matchup since then. Rochester, like Hershey, will be coming into town off of some lengthy travel following a 2-1 shootout loss on Friday. Following the game, the Bears will have a week off of action until they’re back home to open the month of March.
