There are certain games that are an uphill battle from before puck drop. Saturday night’s tilt between the Hershey Bears and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms had that billing. Hershey played the night before, a win over the Rochester Americans, and had to contend with travel on their way back to the Keystone State. Compounding matters was the recall of anticipated starter Hunter Shepard, leaving Clay Stevenson to once again go back-to-back. The Bears were pushed, but it ended up being another resounding success in a 4-0 shutout win. Stevenson matched a franchise record for shutouts by a rookie with five, joining Vitek Vanecek and Ron Hextall with the honor.
Strange Events in Allentown
The Bears had to endure the pressure that was sure to come from the Phantoms. Stevenson, playing in his fifth set of back-to-back games, made a career-high 37 saves in this game. Hershey was without captain Dylan McIlrath for the second straight game in addition to Hardy Haman Aktell. All the roster moves proved to make All-Star bound coach Todd Nelson look like a genius, with three goals from players inserted into the lineup on Saturday.
Hershey has scored a lot of goals in their recent hot streak in a lot of forms. However, none of their goals were as strange as what stood as the game-winner credited to Lucas Johansen. Johansen fired a puck from his own blue line that hit Phantoms defender Ronnie Attard. The puck fluttered high in the air and rainbowed over Cal Petersen for one of the stranger goals this season.
Put Me In, Coach!
It was an economic use of shots by the Bears, who only tallied eight shots on goal through two periods. Hershey’s insurance markers came from a familiar face to Lehigh Valley fans, with Matt Strome tallying two goals. Strome hadn’t tallied for the Bears since they were in Allentown back in March and seems to thrive in his former home. He tracked his own shot and tapped the loose puck out of the air and past Petersen for a huge goal.
Strome’s second goal was a great team effort started by Riley Sutter. He stole the puck and set it up for Bogdan Trineyev, who threw a picture-perfect pass spinning around to Strome on the other side. Strome buried it on the open side of the net in another big showing for Hershey’s depth.
Hershey’s fourth goal came on a defensive clinic from Jake Massie. He tracked Attard from the corner to the point, making a great poke check to put the puck behind the defense. Massie, who has some great skating ability, was able to transition to a breakaway and bury the shot for his first of the year. Neither Massie nor Strome were in the lineup on Friday in Rochester, but their additions proved to be the difference in this game.
Roaring Into 2024
It all adds up to another win to close out the calendar year for the Bears, their eighth in a row. The winning streak is only the second-longest for the team this season, a record they’ll look to match in the first game of 2024. It moves Hershey to 18 wins in their last 20 games, an incredible pace for 54 points, 13 more than the nearest opponent.
Stevenson’s outstanding start has him at the top of the AHL in terms of goals against average at 1.70 and saver percentage at 0.937. His start was successful enough for him to earn a contract extension from Washington earlier this season. He’s going to be an integral part of Hershey’s run with Shepard in the NHL for the time being. It’s all part of a very successful calendar year for the Chocolate and White, with a complete team effort responsible for this win.
