The Heat Is On - Bears Battling For Playoff Position

HERSHEY, Pa. - After a wish-we-could-redo-that kind of start Wednesday on Matt Moulson Bobblehead Night where the Bears gave up a goal in the first 20 seconds of the contest, ten different Hershey skaters made their way to the scoresheet en route to a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers AHL affiliate.

"I didn't love the first 20 seconds of the game. And probably the first 10 minutes or so. But I thought we buckled down the next 50. And I certainly love the fact that as the game went on, I thought we got stronger," Scott Allen told InsideAHLHockey.com after the win.

It took quite a bit of time for Hershey to respond to Wade Allison’s game opener, but by the end of the first, Shane Gersich and Alexei Protas tallied in a span of 1:19 to give the Bears the lead going into the first intermission. In the second, Lucas Johanson drifted deep into the offensive zone and scored his seventh of the season. Just 1:23 later, Beck Malenstyn would add to the lead with his first of the evening. In the third, Malenstyn would connect on a shorthanded, unassisted goal. Phoenix Copley made 26 saves in the winning effort for the Bears.

The Bears traveled to Providence Friday night but were unsuccessful in their first attempt to become the first AHL team to earn the franchise’s 3000th victory as Troy Grosenick and the Bruins blanked Hershey 2-0. The Bears and Bruins battled scoreless through two periods, but Providence was able to score the game-winning goal early in the third when former-Bear Tyler Lewington tallied. Allen pulled Zach Fucale for the extra attacker late in the period, and Providence tacked on an empty net goal.

Hershey made the short trip to Hartford on Saturday evening, but once again fell short in their quest for 3000, 4-3 in a shootout. Hartford built an early 3-0 lead, but the Bears roared back behind a pair of powerplay goals.

First, Garrett Pilon connected during a four-minute powerplay. Then, with a 5-on-3 advantage, Mason Morelli scored to make it 3-2 Hartford heading into the second intermission. In the third period, Mike Vecchione scored Hershey’s lone even-strength goal to tie the game. In OT, Hershey had numerous “Grade A” chances, but neither team connected, forcing the shootout where Ty Ronning scored the only goal to lift the Pack to a 4-3 victory.

Special Teams Weekly Recap

Hershey PP was 2-for-13 (Pilon and Morelli against Hartford)

Hershey PK was 8-for-10 (Malenstyn scored SH against Lehigh Valley)

Three Takeaways

1. Injury Issues Yet Again

In Wednesday night’s contest, Mike Sgarbossa was tripped up by Tanner Laczynski’s stick in the first period and went hard into the end boards. Play was eventually stopped and Sgarbossa, with a bit of help, eventually made his way off the ice and down the tunnel. He briefly returned to action before heading back into the lockerroom for an early exit; Sgarbossa was not on the trip to Providence and Hartford. Long-term injuries this season to key players have proven to be extremely costly (Moulson and Pinho are currently rehabbing after surgeries). This is not the time of year to be adding players to the proverbial shelf. In Hartford, there were several scary moments when both Cody Franson and Drake Rymsha each left the game after a stick to the face and a puck to the face respectively. Both returned to the Hershey bench before the end of the game, but injuries seem to follow this team this season. The running joke this season is that Coach Allen needs to do his lineups using Post-It Notes - seems that trend is continuing.

2. Still searching for #3000

With history within reach, it seems like it is taking forever to get over those final hurdles to 3000. Hershey currently sits with 2,999 victories. The tracking began in earnest in January, but almost nobody thought the Bears would not have accomplished this milestone that only four NHL teams have surpassed. While earning #3000 at home would be nice for the fans, that hopefully will not be the case since the Bears are not home again until April 9. “When somebody brought it up awhile back, I was like, ok let’s get it done sooner than later,” Bryan Helmer said, continuing, “I wish we had it done before now.” So does Bears Nation, Helms! Then we’d all stop talking about it and the Bears could get back to playing hockey.

3. Playoff Push

Hershey’s Magic Number currently sits at 20. The Bears, 5th in the Atlantic Division, would end up playing Hartford if the season ended today. Hartford has had Hershey’s number this season as the Bears have won just once, a 5-0 victory at Giant Center on January 22. Two of Hershey’s losses have come in the shootout, so the teams appear to be relatively evenly matched. Still, this is not a team that Hershey wants to meet in a best-of-three given the Bears’ 0-fer performance in Hartford this season.  The bottom line - Hershey must find a way to get victories on the road, even down some key contributors to improve their standing.

Allen Quotable (on Gersich’s save)

"Yeah, that was a huge play. And again, same thing Shane is a heart and soul guy. He lays down a line every night. He was one of my go to guys tonight. I could probably play him 15 minutes a night and he would respond. And he does the job on both sides of the puck. And that was a huge play," Allen said of Gersich’s goal line save Wednesday night at Giant Center against the Flyers' AHL affiliate.

Gersich Quotable

"No goalie in my future - hopefully not," Gersich laughed. "But I was just trying to help Cops out there. Obviously, he does a lot for us as a team."

The Road Ahead

The Bears are on the road again this weekend with a pair of games in Charlotte.

Milestone alert

The Bears are just a win 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.

Vecchione Coming Back

The Washington Capitals announced Monday they signed forward Mike Vecchione to a one-year, two-way contract ($750,000/$275,000) for the 2022-23 season. Vecchione is tied for the team's lead in points this season with the Bears at a near point-per-game clip, recording 38 points (13G-25A) in 46 games.