Stuck on 2998: Hershey Two Wins From Becoming First AHL Team To 3000

HERSHEY, Pa. -  After sweeping Week 23, the Bears traveled north of the border for a trying three-in-three in Canada starting with a 1:30 p.m. ET game in Toronto Thursday afternoon.

Not only did their winning streak come to an end, but Zach Fucale’s three-game consecutive shutout streak also came to an end as Hershey fell to the Marlies 3-0.

Additionally, the Bears quest for win number 3000 was put on hold, preventing the Bears from potentially earning that milestone against former bench boss Troy Mann and his Belleville Senators. Hershey outshot the Marlies 41-28, but went 0-for-5 on the PP. The Bears have not scored a power play goal since February 27th against Utica at home, going a frosty 0-for-25 in a span of seven games.

The Bears left Toronto Thursday afternoon and traveled to Belleville for a game against the Troy Mann-coached Senators. Hershey’s scoreless streak on the power play came to an end when Mike Sgarbossa tallied in the first period, but the Bears ultimately fell 3-2 in overtime.

Aliaksei Protas gave the Bears their only lead of the game with his fifth goal of the season early in the second, but Belleville tied the game later in the period. After a scoreless third, the game progressed to overtime, and despite having a powerplay for the first two minutes of OT, Belleville got the game-winner with 57 seconds left before a shootout. Phoenix Copley made 32 saves on 35 shots.

Things went from bad to worse on the final stop of the three-game road trip to Canada when Hershey dropped a 5-1 decision to Laval.

Bobby Nardella opened the scoring with a power play goal, but it was all Laval from there as the Rocket scored four goals in under ten minutes in the second period. They would tack on an empty net goal in the third. Fucale made 23 saves on 27 shots in net.

Special Teams Weekly Recap

Hershey PP was 2-for-10 (Sgarbossa - Belleville; Nardella - Laval)

Hershey PK was 7-for-10 (one each for Toronto, Belleville, Laval)

Three Things

1. Where’s the Offense?

In a recurring trend this season, Hershey struggled to find offense north of the border - scoring just three goals in three games while giving up 11.

Without key pieces of the puzzle this season, the Bears have struggled to find their offensive footing. Unfortunately for the Bears, what you see is probably what you will get through the remainder of the regular season and potentially beyond.

Matt Moulson and Brian Pinho both are on indefinite IR with following surgeries. The absence of one creates a hole, but the absence of both is something difficult to overcome. Add to that the Capitals recalling players to fill their ailing roster has created quite the different team than what the Bears coaching staff probably imagined.

That's not to say that guys haven't stepped up, but it's frustrating the fan base of this historic franchise and the players as well.

"We have to find a way to overcome," said Scott Allen. "It's not going to come from any place but within, so if we're looking for outside help, it's not there."

2. Still Chasing History

Nobody - NOBODY - wanted to wait this long to reach win #3000, but here they are still two wins away.

Ironically, the stage was set for the team to reach that milestone on the road in Bridgeport, then in Canada, and now potentially this weekend in New England.

"For the organization to accomplish a milestone like that is pretty amazing," said VP of Hockey Operations, Bryan Helmer. "If you look at the teams that, did it in the NHL, there's a handful that did it. To be the first [American Hockey League] team to do that it's pretty special….I wish we had it done before now too."

Understandably, they want to reach it as soon as possible, but the aforementioned fanbase would love to see that victory come on home ice to give the guys the standing ovation that rightly would be deserved with that milestone victory, but assuredly nobody is going to want to wait until April 9th for Hershey’s next home game (after Wednesday’s Lehigh Valley contest) for that victory.

3. Roster Stability

Hershey's roster has been anything but stable this season. Injuries, illnesses, and recalls have forced the coaching staff to make changes well in advance and at the last minute.

With the trade deadline now in the rear view mirror, there should be some semblance of stability, injuries and illnesses aside. That should make for some better chemistry on the ice between players.

Additionally, Hershey's schedule looks slightly better with a pair of road games this weekend and a pair next weekend. Certainly, better than some of the insanity the league forced upon the Bears (and other teams) this season.

One piece that will likely only arrive in the event the Bears push into the postseason outlasts Washington’s is Connor McMichael, a paper transaction on deadline day to make him eligible to play in the AHL at any point in the remainder of the 2021-22 season as well as the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Bryan Helmer Quotable

"We were at a sports bar in Toronto and it had a huge screen and TVs on the side and so Beaker asks if we could put the Caps game on instead of the Leafs game, and that didn't go over very well, but we ended up getting it on one of the smaller screens, but we didn’t see it (Jonsson-Fjallby’s first NHL goal) right away," Helmer said noting he and the coaching staff often feel like Proud Dads. "All of a sudden you see it's Axel and you see the replay, but we didn't see it live, but again it was pretty special to see him put one in the net. Our table did. They were probably like, 'What's going on up there - the Leafs didn't score,' but we always keep track of the Caps games and the players that go up especially."

The Road Ahead

The Bears play Friday night in Providence and then make the short trip to Hartford for a Saturday night game. They will then head to Charlotte for a pair of games to open April.

Milestone alert

The Bears are just two wins shy of 3000, which would make them the first team in AHL history to eclipse that milestone.

Cody Franson is just two goals away from his 100th.

Dylan McIlrath is one point shy of 100 AHL career points.