Hershey Bears Weekly Notebook 11/17/22

HERSHEY, Pa. - For the first time since January of 2011, the Hershey Bears swept a home three-in-three earning a pair of victories over Bridgeport Friday and Saturday and an impressive victory over Laval Sunday.

"Yeah, it was a very good weekend for us," Bears head coach Todd Nelson said after Sunday's win. "Obviously two really emotional games when it's Bridgeport and playing against a team (Laval) that I think is way better than the record indicates. They played hard tonight, had us on our heels a bit in the second period. It's always tough, but I like the way the guys handled it. And that's a big weekend for us."

Last Week

Friday, November 11: Bridgeport - 3 at Hershey - 4 (OT)

Friday night's game was the first meeting of Hershey and Bridgeport this season, and if the remaining contests between the two are as tight as the games at Giant Center this weekend, this series will be a delight.

After giving up the early lead in the first period, Ethen Frank extended his scoring streak with his fifth of the season in as many games.

The lead was short-lived as the Islanders once again took the lead in the second period, but a Kale Kessy goal from the paint tied the game once again at 2-2.

In the third, Shane Gersich gave the Bears their first lead of the evening, but Bridgeport pulled even before the midway mark of the third.

The game then went to overtime where Vincent Iorio netted his first pro goal to lift the Bears to a 4-3 victory. Zach Fucale was 29-for-32.

After the game, Nelson pointed to the Kessy goal as providing a needed momentum swing.

"You know, that was a huge goal because the second period wasn't really going in our favor," Nelson told InsideAHLHockey.com after Friday's win. "He scored that late in the period (and) that's a huge goal for us anytime you see a guy like Kess score a goal like that."

Saturday, November 12: Bridgeport - 1 at Hershey - 2 (OT)

In the rematch on Saturday night, it took until the third period for either team to score.

Once again, Bridgeport was on the board first, but Hendrix Lapierre tied the game to once again force overtime.

In Saturday’s OT it was Sam Anas who earned the game-winning goal on a 4-on-3 powerplay. Hunter Shepard earned the victory with a 27-save performance.

"It was huge to get two points. That's a very good hockey team. Those guys play hard. We played within our system," Nelson explained Saturday night. "And like I said, it's a tough team to play against."

Sunday, November 13: Laval - 1 at Hershey - 4

Sunday evening, the Laval Rocket came to town. With both teams on the final game of a three-in-three, tired skaters were to be expected, but the Bears seemingly found another gear and earned a 4-1 victory.

Lapierre and Bobby Nardella both scored in the first period.

In the second, a perfect series of passes led to a beautiful deke and score from Anas.

Things got a bit interesting in the third when the Rocket scored and another scoring chance went to video review before being confirmed as no-goal.

Henrik Rybinksi tacked on an empty-net goal to help Hershey sweep the week. Fucale made 25 saves.

Quotable

Jake Massie, on shifting up to forward (and back to defense as needed) in Sunday's game

"The key is just not to over think it. You know, we're all able to play at this level. So it's just trusting in your feet, trusting in your skills? And yeah so I didn't really try to over think it too much. You have to flip a switch a little bit."

The Week Ahead

The Bears have yet another three-in-three this weekend. Friday night they will travel north on I-81 to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins; this is a 7:05 start.

Saturday and Sunday they will return home to host the Hartford WolfPack. Sunday's game, Hockey Fights Cancer Night, will be a 4:30 start.

Friday, November 18: Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov 19: Hartford at Hershey, 7:00 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov 20: Hartford at Hershey, 4:30 p.m. ET

Team Leaders

Points: Lapierre and Vecchione (10) Goals: Frank (5) Assists: Morelli (8) +/-: Iorio +7 (T-13th in AHL) PIM: Dylan McIlrath - 25 (T-19th in AHL) Saves: Fucale, 181 (16th in AHL) SV%: Shepard, .927 (T-7th in AHL) GAA: Fucale, 2.01 (6th in AHL)