It seemed like the Hershey Bears might be headed towards a loss on Wednesday against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Chocolate and White missed a few key chances and trailed after two periods. Instead, the Bears stormed back in the final frame with three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 win. Mike Vecchione had a pair of goals against his former team and Clay Stevenson earned the win with 25 saves. The win is Hershey’s 35th of the season.
Rivalry Renewed
The Bears and the Phantoms squared off for the eighth time in the regular season, with the Bears taking five wins in seven games. Lehigh Valley is desperate for points in the standings, trailing the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division by three points. Hershey got on the board first with Mike Vecchione tallying a power play goal just over 13 minutes into the game to make it 1-0. Chase Priskie tallied the primary assist for four helpers in his last two games.
Hershey led in shots 14-7 after one and perhaps could have led by more. Several defensive breakdowns led to odd man rushes that the Bears were unable to capitalize on. That left room for the Phantoms to stay in the game and try to get back into it. They’d do just that, scoring twice on four-on-four scenarios with a familiar play. Both times, Adam Ginning had the puck on his strong side below the left faceoff circle. He’d center a crisp pass just atop the crease to Cooper Marody and Ronnie Attard to lift the Phantoms ahead 2-1.
Turning the Tables
The Bears quickly tied the game just over a minute into the third period. Jimmy Huntington was able to bank the puck off of goaltender Felix Sandstrom and in after it bounced around in front. The goaltender was slightly out of position for Huntington to capitalize on for his 11th goal of the year. Huntington has four goals in his last four games in a strong recent stretch. He was named the team’s player of the week prior to Wednesday’s contest.
Lehigh Valley is celebrating its history this weekend amidst a lot of games at the PPL Center. Familiar faces from years past are checking in with the team in its tenth anniversary in Allentown this weekend. It’s fitting that a former Phantom factored in on the game-winning goal, with Vecchione scoring his second of the game. His shot beat Sandstrom on the short side for his 13th goal of the season.
Winner, Winner
The Bears sealed the deal when leading goal scorer Pierrick Dubé hit the empty net from his own zone. It capped off a sneaky performance for Dubé as he finished with three points (one goal, two assists). Among other noteworthy milestones in this game, Aaron Ness tallied an assist in his 700th AHL game. The Bears are now 6-1-0-1 against the Phantoms this season, with a rematch at PPL Center on Friday.
The win increases Hershey’s current streak to six and gives them at least a point in nine consecutive games. Hershey’s record sits at 35-7-0-2, good for 72 points and 15 above the next best team in their division. The Bears have been finding scoring up and down their lineup of late as a key contribution to their success. Wednesday’s game is the latest example of that with the second line tallying all four goals. Even if one line is quiet, the others tend to pick them up. The Bears will look to continue this streak in Friday’s rematch.
