Bears Rode OT Roller Coaster, Prepare For First '3-in-3' Of 2021-22 Season

HERSHEY, Pa. - Bonus hockey in Giant Center was the phrase of the week for Hershey has the Bears lost Wednesday night to the Syracuse Crunch in OT, lost Saturday night to the Cleveland Monsters in an 8-round shootout, and salvaged the week with an OT win in Sunday's rematch against the Monsters.

Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the first period Wednesday night thanks to goals from Alex Jonsson-Fjallby and Matt Moulson, the Bears gave up powerplay goals in the second and third periods to the Crunch, which forced OT. In the OT period, Syracuse got the game winner with just 14 seconds to go before a shootout would have been a necessity.

Ironically, Saturday night a shootout was necessary as Hershey clawed back from an early 1-0 deficit to tie the game in the second. On a 5-on-3 powerplay, Mike Vecchione found Cody Franson who ripped a shot from the point position that beat J-F Berube. It would be the only time Berube was beaten all night as he stopped 34 other shots in regulation and OT and then turned away all eight of Hershey’s shootout attempts.

Hershey looked a bit more disciplined, taking only three minor penalties, but puck possession still posed a problem for the Bears. Prophetically Saturday night, Bears' head coach Scott Allen said, "The opposition always has a say in the outcome of the game...every game is a different game. It's a new story. They're all going to have a different ending."

In fitting Halloween fashion, Sunday’s game headed down an all-too-familiar road on bonus hockey, but the outcome, as Allen stated Saturday night, was different. After an early PP goal for the Monsters, Mike Sgarbossa and Lucas Johansen combined to give the Bears the lead in the second, but back-to-back Cleveland goals had the Monsters back on top in the 3rd until the Bears struck on the powerplay again. Vecchione found Franson who once again ripped a puck from the point position. Garret Pilon redirected the puck into the net to tie the game. In the OT period, it was speedy Jonsson-Fjallby who took a Vecchione pass and sent the Monsters packing.

Three Things

1. Special Teams

The Bears are currently 11th in the league on the PP, connecting 20.7 or six goals in 27 attempts.

Hershey’s PK is 5th in the league with a kill percentage of 87.5% (28-for-32).

Allen is always quick to point out that his goaltenders are a key part of the PK success, but it would be remiss not to mention Hershey’s PK from Saturday night’s OT period where Alex Alexeyev, Michal Kempny, and Brian Pinho logged nearly all 2:00 of Dylan McIlrath’s minor penalty at the end of regulation.

Of the effort, Allen said, "Honestly I wasn't nervous (I was disappointed obviously with the penalty at the end of the game like that), but I wasn't nervous. I had full confidence in us getting the job done. Full credit goes to all four of those guys. Cleveland had to keep look off of what they were looking for because (of those guys)."

2. Recalls

Recent call ups of Brett Leason and Aliaksei Protas along with a lower-body injury to Kody Clark have left the Bears looking a bit thin at the forward position.

Leason, who scored Washington’s first goal in a loss November 1, has recorded just one goal in five games for the Bears.

Protas, who centered arguably Hershey’s best line has a goal and three assists in six games for the Bears.

Clark’s injury, which came late in Saturday’s game when he took a puck to the knee area, has a goal in six games for Hershey. Saturday night, Allen said that there was no update on Clark, “after he went off about two minutes after, they came back and said he was done (for the night)."

3. From A(xel) to Z(ach)

When Buffalo claimed speedy winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby off of waivers, nobody in Hershey was happy. But after the Sabres released him, Washington quickly re-claimed and assigned him to the Bears where he has once again proved an impact player. His four-game scoring streak was snapped Saturday night against Cleveland, but he rebounded nicely Sunday with a goal and an assist and is currently second on the team in scoring.

Equally impressive has been the performance of Zach Fucale, who sits atop the league with 0.96 goals-against average through three games (2-0-1).

When asked Sunday evening about the state of goaltending in Hershey, Allen quipped, "The state of our goaltending is excellent."

Up Next

The Bears have a 3-in-3 weekend with some travel to kick things off with a trip to Massachusetts in advance of Friday night's game against the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Hershey then returns home for two games on Saturday against Providence Bruins and Sunday in a rematch against the Thunderbirds.

Friday, November 5: Hershey at Springfield, 7:00 p.m. ETSaturday, November 6: Providence at Hershey, 7:00 p.m. ETSunday, November 7: Springfield at Hershey, 3:00 p.m. ET