Hershey Bears: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly from Games 8 & 9 of 76

HERSHEY, Pa. --  The Hershey Bears (4-3-2) finished the month of October with a pair of losses to North Division opponents Rochester and Utica (shootout loss). They'll begin November in fourth place in the Atlantic Division standings, but will need to consistently pick up points in the standings to keep pace in what is always a fierce Atlantic Division.

The Good

Hershey was 0-for-3 on the powerplay. How is that good?

The Bears were able to keep the puck in the Utica zone for nearly all of the powerplay time, and did so without the services of Mike Sgarbossa who missed the game reportedly due to illness.

Hershey head coach Spencer Carbery was pleased with the performance of the special teams unit. “I think we had three or four (chances); you’d probably like to get one there, but we had some really good looks,” Carberry said. “We had that one where we basically had possession and some opportunities for two straight minutes...we just couldn’t convert.”

The Bad

The Bears held the high-scoring Utica Comets (35 goals in 7 games) to just one goal in regulation, a tally during a four-on-four stretch in the first period. With Kale Kessy and Olli Juolevi were each assessed roughing minors, gifts to both players by the officials as Kessy took offense to Juolevi putting him in a headlock and driving him to the ice, the speedy Comets took advantage of the extra ice when Adam Gaudette blasted a puck past Christian Djoos and Vitek Vanecek. Gaudette had just joined the team after being reassigned by Vancouver.

The bad news for Hershey is that they were oh so close to knocking a team from the ranks of the unbeaten for the second time this year, but they’ve yet to be successful (4-3 loss in Toronto on October 16).

“You have to take [the shootout loss] with a grain of salt. Utica plays last night, travels five-and-a-half hours overnight, so they’re obviously [at a] fatigue level compared to us...the ice was tilted to us,” Carbery said after the game.

The Ugly

Just about the only thing that went right for Hershey Wednesday night in Rochester was the scoreless first period. Rochester would score four straight goals before Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored a short-handed goal late in the third, but by that time, the game was already firmly in Rochester’s hands.

Several players on Hershey’s roster have yet to score (Garrett Pilon, Shane Gersich, Brett Leason, and Kale Kessy), and the Bears really need them to get their first goals of the season.

“As a coach and what you try to relay to them as much as you can, is focus on why you’re getting that chance and the things that are leading up to that, and that’s a real positive thing if you put yourself in a spot to get opportunities, then you’re doing something right,” Carbery said.

Up Next?

The Bears begin November with their first three-in-three weekend of the season, beginning with a Friday night road contest in Springfield. Hershey returns to Giant Center to finish the weekend at home with games against Providence (Saturday, 7 pm ET) and Syracuse (Sunday, 5 pm ET).