Hershey Bears Weekly Notebook 11/22/22

HERSHEY, Pa. - The Hershey Bears (9-4-2) endured another three-in-three, but unfortunately, this weekend was not as successful as last weekend's home sweep as the Bears lost Friday night in Wilkes-Barre, defeated the Wolf Pack at home Saturday before falling Sunday in the rematch.

### Last Week

Friday, November 18: Hershey - 0 at W-B/Scranton - 4

On Friday night, Hershey fell 4-0 to the Penguins.

After the Penguins jumped out to a 1-0 lead, the Bears appeared to have tied the game, but Vincent Iorio's tally was waved off due to goaltender interference. The Penguins would go on to score three more goals, including an empty net goal.

Of Friday night's game, Nelson said, "I don't think we were terrible by any stretch. It is a closer game than 4-0. But we were a bit sloppy. We just didn't execute very well. [Iorio's] score got taken away from us, but it happens so fast, and the officials have to make a decision on that."

Saturday, November 19: Hartford - 1 at Hershey - 6

Hershey returned home Saturday and took Friday night's frustrations out on Hartford. Six different Bears tallied goals with 14 players appearing on the scoresheet.

Hershey's scoring onslaught opened in the first with a Mason Morelli goal. Morelli's linemates - Henrik Borgstrom and Garrett Pilon - also scored in the first period, chasing veteran goaltender Louis Domingue from the net after the opening 20 minutes of play.

In the second, Hershey goals were recorded by Sam Anas, Mike Vecchione, and Hendrix Lapierre. The goal for Anas was his 100th AHL goal.

Hartford spoiled Hunter Shepard's shutout bid; Shepard ended the night with 18 saves on 19 shots.

"I think it's nice that we're getting contributions from a lot of different people right now," Nelson said. "You know, you sometimes play games where, like one line has a big name and another line next night, but I thought everybody played pretty well for me, like all four lines played well. We got a bit banged up and had to shorten the bench a bit. But other than that, I thought it was a solid effort by everybody."

Sunday, November 20: Hartford - 4 at Hershey - 2

Sunday's rematch was a specialty jersey night for the Bears as Hershey hosted Hockey Fights Cancer night.

Hartford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but Julian Napravnik’s first pro goal tied the game.

Hershey briefly took the lead on Borgstrom’s second of the weekend, but Hartford tied the game early in the second and eventually took the lead, prompting Nelson to pull Fucale for the extra attacker which allowed Hartford to score an empty-net goal for the 4-2 victory.

Fucale made 17 saves on 20 shots in the loss.

"We were a pretty tired team today," Nelson said of Sunday's loss to conclude the three-in-three weekend. "You know, we played a great game last night. Today was a game where we kind of beat ourselves as well."

Quotable

Head coach Todd Nelson on Connor McMichael’s return to the AHL

"Well, I think the biggest thing is that he gets a chance to play. [Sunday's] game, you know, there were so many penalties, and he's gonna actually kill penalties for us, but we just didn't want to throw him into the mix right away. So in the second period a lot of guys didn't play, but I'm looking forward to watching him play and have some fun because he has to get playing and get confidence in his game. I thought he played well [Sunday]."

The Week Ahead

The Bears will be on the road this week with games in Springfield Wednesday night and a pair in Hartford Friday and Saturday.

Wednesday, November 23: Hershey at Springfield, 7:05 p.m. ET Friday, November 25: Hershey at Hartford, 7:00 p.m. ET Saturday, November 26: Hershey at Hartford, 7:00 p.m. ET

Team Leaders

Points: Mike Vecchione, Hendrix Lapierre, Mason Morelli - 11 Goals: Ethen Frank - 5 Assists: Mason Morelli - 9 +/-: Vincent Iorio +8 (T-13th in AHL) PIM: Dylan McIlrath - 30 (T-17th in AHL) Saves: Zach Fucale - 216 (19th in AHL) SV%: Hunter Shepard .930 (4th in AHL) GAA: Hunter Shepard 1.96 (4th in AHL) / Zach Fucale - 2.22 (8th in AHL)