Hershey Bears: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly 12/26/19

HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Hershey Bears (16-9-5) find themselves a perfect 8-0-0 in the month of December, moving into third place in the Atlantic Division after two more wins this past weekend.

The Good

The Hershey Bears remain undefeated in December. Hershey hosted the Springfield Thunderbirds for a pair of games this past weekend and pulled out a 2-1 Overtime victory Saturday and battled back from a 2-goal deficit in the third for a 3-2 victory Sunday.

"During the second intermission, I said a couple of things - I felt like the last five minutes of the second period where they went up 2-0 we really started to push and you saw some of the things that we’re capable of doing that had been few and far between for the previous 35 minutes. I also had some specific things I wanted to get across with respect to they’re playing their 3rd game in 3 days, we’re playing our 2nd...I felt like they were the more urgent, quicker team for the first 40 minutes and thats’ what I have an issue with,” said Carbery.

The pair of victories put the Bears in sole possession of third place in the Atlantic, just four points behind co-leaders Hartford and Providence. Additionally, the Bears have a game-in-hand on Hartford and three games-in-hand on Providence. Hershey, 8-1-0-1 in their last ten, has not lost since November 30 when they fell to Troy Mann’s Belleville Senators in Giant Center on November 30.

The Bad

In Saturday’s game, Jayce Hawryluk was assessed a two-minute minor for boarding Christian Djoos. Carbery said, “Djoos - just a dirty hit from behind, in a vulnerable spot. He actually had to leave the game again, he came back and gave it a shot, but ended up having to leave again, but we’ll evaluate those (Alexeyev was off the ice for an injury earlier in the period, but returned) and go from there.” The hit, which garnered supplemental discipline from the AHL, caused a mele around Djoos, who fortunately was able to skate off under his own power. He made the attempt to come back out on the ice in the third, but did not complete the game. The dangerous play from Hawryluk will go unpunished until such time as he returns from recall by Florida. This loophole in punishment is an oversight by the two leagues to get their houses in order. Guys who make dangerous plays are then recalled off of conditioning loans by the parent clubs without immediate punishment. What is to stop the next NHL’er from doing the same thing and then not serving out that punishment for a season or more? Honestly, nothing.

The Ugly

The ugly stat line from the weekend is co-held by Tyler Lewington and Alex Alexeyev, who were on the ice for all three of Springfield’s goals this past weekend. In Saturday night’s game, Henrick Borgstrom tied the game on the man-advantage with Axel Jonsson-Fjallby serving a minor for elbowing. The speedy winger would make up for it by scoring the game winner in overtime. In Saturday afternoon’s game, Lewington and Alexeyev were once again together on the ice for Springfield’s back-to-back goals in the second period. Paul Thompson and Daniel Audette tallied to give the visitors a lead they held until Matt Moulson scored a pair of goals early in the third and assisted on Philippe Maillet’s eventual game-winner just past the midway part of the third period.

Our Naughty/Nice List

Tyler Lewington - Naughty - Lewington was on the ice for all three goals this past weekend and his 22 penalty minutes through 14 games are fourth highest on the team. It should be noted that Lewington has done a terrific job in making strides towards the Nice List - to date he has no fights, but did pick up a misconduct for unsportsman-like conduct December 7th against Lehigh Valley.

Christian Djoos - Nice - After clearing waivers, Djoos could have sulked, but chose not to. Instead, Djoos is using the playing time to hone his game and has 18 points (3G, 15A) through 25 games with the Bears. His +7 is second only to Fehervary. Santa will be bringing Djoos a bit of healing following Saturday’s injury.

Lucas Johansen - Nice - It’s hard to put a player on the Naughty List when he’s only appeared in six games due to an injury sustained October 26th against Utica.

Connor Hobbs - Naughty - Hobbs has found himself a healthy scratch, last playing against Belleville on November 30th. In the interim, the Bears have gone undefeated in December. Not a good look for the third-year blueliner.

Shane Gersich - Naughty - Gersich thinks Santa doesn’t see it, but he’s a pesky guy out there, often getting under the skin of the opposition. To return to the nice list, Gersich can add to his offensive production; he has just eight points (3G, 5A) through 23 games. He’s a bit banged up, so that increase in scoring will have to wait until he’s 100% again.

Steve Whitney - Nice - Whitney battled out of the negative column, but has not been on the ice since November 16. As a result, his offensive production (2G, 2A) is far down on the list. Whitney needs to get and stay healthy.

Beck Malenstyn - Nice - Beck-the-Check is going on the Nice List despite just seven points (4G, 3A) through 21 games and 12 penalty minutes. Malenstyn was injured December 7 against the Phantoms.

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby - Naughty - It would be pretty easy to make a case for AJF to be on the Nice List, but his elbowing penalty Saturday that led to a Springfield goal tipped the scales a bit against him. He then scored the game-winner, so it was tempting to put him back on the Nice List, but he missed some huge chances he created in Sunday’s game.

Mike Sgarbossa - Nice - Sgarbossa leads the Bears with 26 points (10G, 16A) through 28 games. His on-ice chemistry with Joe Snively is undeniable as the pair often are able to make terrific passes without looking as if there is some type of ESP going on.

Garrett Pilon - Nice - If for no other reason than his terrific chat with InsideAHLHockey on Sunday - Pilon was genuinely surprised to have reached 100 AHL games and was quick to credit his teammates for his successes. Through 29 games, he’s tallied 3 goals and 9 assists. Pilon is the third member of the powerful Sgarbossa-Snively line.

Philippe Maillet - Nice - Maillet bumped himself off of the Naughty List with a game-winning goal and pair of assists on Sunday afternoon. Perhaps Maillet likes those earlier starts. Regardless, those multi-point games need to keep coming as he’s recorded just 12 points (5G, 7A) through 29 games, down some from his 54-point performance through 68 games last season for the Ontario Reign.

Liam O’Brien - Naughty - O’Brien is second on the team with 42 penalty minutes, but has 14 points (6G, 8A) through 27 games played. He’s a +6, which is one of the highest +/- on the team. Additionally, his leadership on and off the ice make him a fan-favorite. O’Brien has proven he can provide scoring at times, we’d just like to see that be more consistent.

Joe Snively - Nice - another guy who took time to chat with InsideAHLHockey recently, Snively and Sgarbossa have definitely found some on-ice chemistry. The “rookie” is sixth on the team with 12 points (7G, 5A) in just 28 games. Early in the season, he hit was our UGLY with his team-worst -8, but has worked himself back to even.

Kale Kessy - Naughty - Kessy leads the team with 55 penalty minutes in 12 games played. He’s recorded no points and is a -3 so far, but with him on the ice, there are fewer chances for cheap shots against his teammates for sure. We’re sure they all have Kessy on their NICE LISTS though!

Brett Leason - Nice - We’ll add the rookie to the Nice List even though we’d (and the coaching staff) would like to see more offensive production out of him. Through 27 games, he has just one goal and six assists, but is +5 and doesn’t take silly penalties (8 PIM), so everyone can afford to be a bit patient with him.

Riley Sutter - Nice - The up-side is that the rookie has no penalties in the six games he’s appeared in since November 15. The bad news is he has just one point, an assist in the Bridgeport game November 23. In his two recent appearances, he has started to take some shots (2 in December 15 and 2 more December 22).

Colby Williams - Nice - Santa is bringing Williams better health since he’s been so nice. Williams last appeared on November 23 in Bridgeport.

Matt Moulson - Nice - Moulson is second on the team in scoring with 20 points (11G, 9A) through 30 games. In fact, Moulson scored a pair and assisted on the game-winner Sunday.

Alex Alexeyev - Nice - He leads all rookies in scoring - not too bad for a defenseman, which kept him off of the Naughty List. This past weekend, he was on the ice for all three of Springfield’s goals, but his 13 points (1G/12A) and up-side balanced out the bad, especially for a guy who finds himself on the PK unit as a rookie.

Brian Pinho - “Pins” lands on the Nice List, centering rookie Brett Leason and “year-two-rookie” AJF. This speedy line could use a bit of finishing mojo, but they’re young, so they’ll get there. Pinho’s 12 points (4G, 8A) through 30 games has him tied for 6th on the team.

Vitek Vanecek - Nice - Vanecek has become the Phantom-killer of late, shutting down Lehigh Valley in three of his last five appearances (all victories) in net. After 15 games, Vanecek is 9-4-1-1 with a save percentage of .915 and GAA of 2.20. Vanecek is playing so well of late that Carbery has deployed him in back-to-back games twice this month. His positioning and lightning-fast glove hand continue to be strengths of Vanecek.

Pheonix Copley - Nice - Copley didn’t sulk when sent back to Hershey. In fact, after a recent win, Copley popped into the pressroom and asked if he could be interviewed. That’s just the kind of guy he is off the ice. On it, Copley is a fierce competitor who isn’t afraid to mix it up (yup, we saw that “swipe” in the Springfield game as players came together to exchange holiday pleasantries Sunday afternoon even though the officials didn’t). Through 16 games, he’s 7-5-4-1 with a save percentage of .899 and a GAA of 2.63.

Erik Burgdoerfer - Naughty - At 26 penalty minutes in 26 games, Burgdoerfer leads all Hershey defensemen in penalty minutes. His 4 points (2G, 2A) aren’t setting the world on fire, but Burgdoerfer is better known for being a steadying force on the blue-line, and plays within that role very well, especially with many of Hershey’s current playing D-men being rookies.

Eddie Wittchow - Nice - “Big Eddie” is a pleasant surprise on the Hershey blueline and has definitely proven that he can be a mainstay in the AHL. Recalled due to a banged up D-corps, Wittchow has appeared in just eight games with a goal and an assist so far, but probably the most notable aspect of his game is the hard hits he can unload.

Kody Clark - Nice - We’ll put the rookie on the nice list. After nine games, he’s recorded just one assist, but you’d definitely like to see fewer than six penalty minutes over those nine games. The rookie will learn to limit mistakes, especially if he wants to be a mainstay in the AHL. The upside - he did not visit the penalty box this past weekend.

Bobby Nardella - Nice - “Nards” is another pleasant surprise on the Hershey blueline. Te rookie has appeared in nine games so far and has tallied a goal and six assists so far. He’s a +1 with just two minor penalties to date. But Nardella’s special teams play is perhaps the most notable aspect of his game, which has not escaped the notice of Spencer Carbery who has pointed Nardella out a few times in the post-game presser.

Chris McCarthy - Naughty - McCarthy’s numbers have never been eye-popping, but the centerman’s two assists through 12 games and -2 rating are definitely less-than-desirable for a team that is climbing the Atlantic Division rankings. Carbery needs three or four lines to produce, and the fourth line is contributing in a negative fashion, giving up more than they are scoring.

Martin Fehervary - Nice - The rookie defenseman who was selected in the 2nr round of the 2018 draft has been opening eyes in Washington (along with Alexeyev). The 20-year-old has certainly turned heads, appearing in three games for the Caps before coming down to Hershey where he has three goals and eight assists with a team-leading +10 rating! He’s also earned a spot on Hershey’s PK.

Carbs’ Corner

On Saturday’s play - “Obviously the results is great and to find a way to win that game in OT, but I didn’t think we were very good tonight at all. We had some stretches where we were good, but just our execution, our passing, getting our shot through, being able to finish in some situations...it was a far cry from the way we’ve been playing of late, but we held on, Vitek was outstanding in the 3rd period, made five or six 10-bell saves to keep that game 1-1, the PK late...we just did enough little things down the stretch.”

On Vitek Vanecek - “That’s when your goaltending can really make a difference for you. When you don’t have your best, critical times in games, when the game is hanging there - your goaltender can bail you out in certain situations and that’s exactly what V did tonight, so that’s a credit to him. He gets us that win.”

On the temptation to juggle the lines - “It was getting close to juggling some things up to get a spark. We talked about it as a staff and said let’s give it the first five minutes of the third period and see what we’ve got and if we’re going to dig in. I give our guys a ton of credit because that game, we were in a tough spot, down 2-0 we dug in Matty stepped up that goal off the rush, not the PP one, but the first one just to give us some life. OK we’re in this this thing now early and then obviously the PP one and his pass to Phil and then Phil to finish that on the breakaway and...they stepped up big time.”

On Pheonix Copley’s first start in five games - “It should do a lot. Didn’t have a ton of work but he did have some key saves. He should feel real good about his game tonight. I thought he was excellent and held that game at 3-2 when it could have easily been tied up. It’s good for him. I know he’s been chomping at the bit to get back in the net. For him to go into the break on a good performance like this is good for him.”