Hershey Prepared For 3-in-3 Weekend

HERSHEY, Pa. - The Hershey Bears (23-13-6) are in the thick of the Atlantic Division race at the midway mark of the season, and, much like their upcoming opponents, have quite a busy smattering of games including a 'three-in-three' this weekend against rival Lehigh Valley as well as Belleville.

Last week, a shorthanded Hershey team hosted a replenished Hartford Wolf Pack team at Giant Center Wednesday night and put up a valiant effort before falling 3-2 in a shootout.

Zach Fucale made 24 saves in regulation and overtime, but went just 1-for-3 in the shootout. Hershey’s Tobias Geisser skated into the offensive zone and scored at the edge of the faceoff circle with two minutes left in the first period to tie the game for the first time. In the second, Beck Malenstyn, who took a centering feed from Kody Clark scored from the doorstep to put the Bears ahead, but Hartford tied the game late in the third to force overtime. In the bonus frame, The Bears outshot the Pack 3-2, but the game progressed into the shootout where Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored, but Mike Vecchione and Brian Pinho both came up empty.

The Bears then traveled to Cleveland for back-to-back contests Friday and Saturday and emerged victorious for the first time since 2013! On Friday night, Mike Vecchione scored the game’s first and last goals and added an assist en route to first star honors. Clark tallied a 5-on-5 goal, and Lucas Johansen scored a powerplay goal. Fucale made 29 saves on 30 shots to secure the victory for the Bears. Hershey had an early goal called off as the officials determined that Shane Gersich played the puck with a high stick, but they went right back to work as Pilon kept the puck in the offensive zone, sent it to Morelli on the goalline, who sent a backhand pass to Vecchione for the early lead. Cleveland tied the game early in the 3rd, but it was all Hershey from there. Clark netted the eventual game-winner with a beautiful move in the goal crease. A few minutes later, Johansen sent a slapshot into the net from the left point on the powerplay. With the net empty, the Bears got a 2-on-1 and Pinho fed Vecchione for the final goal.

On Saturday night, the Bears the Bears duplicated Friday’s 4-1 victory with goals from Riley Sutter, Malenstyn, Pinho, and Kale Kessy, who recorded an empty net goal against one of his former teams. Phoenix Copley, who briefly returned to the team from a recall to Washington, earned the victory with a 28-save performance, earning second star honors. In the first period, Copley stopped a penalty shot to keep the game scoreless midway through the frame. Sutter got the scoring started when he picked off an errant Cleveland pass in front of the net and finished with a shot that went high glove side into the back of the net. In the second, Malenstyn was in the right place at the right time as Sutter found him all lone with a perfect backhand pass. In the third, the Bears added to their lead when Pinho raced down the sideboards and pulled the trigger for a near-zero angle goal. Cleveland would respond late in the period, but Kessy had the final word, taking the outlet pass from Mason Morelli and getting behind the defense for the empty net goal.

Special Teams Weekly Recap

Hershey PP was 2-for-7 (Vecchione and Johansen both scored Friday night in Cleveland)

Hershey PK was 6-for-6 (Perfect week for the PK)

Three Takeaways

1. Road Warriors

After enjoying ten home games through the month of January, the script gets flipped for February as the Bears head out on the road for eight games including this week’s back-to-back in Cleveland. While it’s a good time to get bodies back from Washington, Hershey might not get as many back as one would think. Regardless, the guys who hit the ice each game have been filling in admirably for the Bears. Allen said, “I do like the way this group is heading. We have work to do just like every team…we’re going to keep building upon our foundation.”

2. Cleveland Rocks

It took quite some time, but the good vibes have returned as the Bears in Cleveland. Friday’s victory marked the first time the Bears have won in Cleveland since February 5, 2013! Saturday’s victory marked Scott Allen’s 75th victory as a head coach. With the back-to-back 4-1 victories, the Bears are now just eight wins shy of 3,000 regular season wins in franchise history.

3. Mike Nykoluk Tribute

Prior to Wednesday night's game, the Bears honored the passing of Mike Nykoluk, one of their own, who sadly passed away.

Additionally, the team created a tribute to "Big Bear" in the hallway, honoring the career of a legend, whose #8 hangs in the rafters of Giant Center.

"I love the history of this hockey team. He was a huge part of the history of this franchise. He was a special man," said Allen.

Quotable

Bears head coach Scott Allen said of Hartford:

"If I would have sat here and told you I wasn't concerned with their lineup prior to this game, I'd be flat out lying. We knew they were getting a caravan load of players sent down, a bunch of guys who have been with the Rangers for a significant amount of time. I thought our guys performed well."

Notes

Lucas Johansen and Pheonix Copley rejoined the Bears for the Cleveland games, but Copley has since returned to Washington while Vitek Vanecek is out with an upper-body injury and Ilya Samsonov was awaiting COVID test results as of Monday evening following the All-Star Break.

Hunter Shepard returned to South Carolina, but with Copley in Washington, the Bears should be making a call south again.

Late Tuesday, the Capitals reassigned Brett Leason to Hershey.

On Wednesday, the Capitals reassigned Hunter Shepard to Hershey.

The Bears also announced they signed Nick Isaacson (South Carolina) to a PTO.