Hershey Bears Recap: Week of 3/2
Greetings, Bears fans, we are at the last full regular season month of Hershey Bears hockey. Love, hug, and cherish what remains. It is a weird week for the boys from Chocolate Town, as the Capitals put Sonny Milano on waivers. Since he was not claimed, he was sent to Hershey. The Bears played Rockford twice this past weekend and also have a pair of games on Monday and Tuesday, including a makeup from a snowstorm in January.
Hershey traveled to Rockford to take on the IceHogs after a 6-4 victory against the Utica Comets on Wednesday, February 25th, snapping a losing streak. Hershey inserted Sonny Milano into the lineup, and it took a while for Milano to show his worth, as the Icehogs got on the board first with a Joey Anderson power-play goal, his 7th of the season, to make it 1-0. The Bears would respond as Milano would wire a shot past Drew Commesso to tie the game.
Hershey would take an early lead as Milano led a 2-on-1 breakaway and fed Andrew Cristall for the go-ahead goal; it was Cristall’s 11th of the season. Hershey would add another as Ilya Protas got his 21st goal on the power play to make it 3-1, and Cristal would get another on the empty-net goal to make it 4-1, and that was your final. It was Sonny Milano's first game as a Hershey Bear in over two years, and he paid immediate dividends, especially on the power play.
On Saturday, February 28th, the Bears would take on the Icehogs once more to close out February and the season series. This time, Hershey would get the first goal as Brett Leason would strip the puck from an IceHogs and score shorthanded for his 12th of the season. The Bears would not stop as Matt Strome would get two goals in the second period for his sixth and seventh of the season and his first goal in over three months. Hershey would add to their lead with a powerplay goal from Graeme Clarke for his 15th of the season and put the game away.
The Icehogs would break the shutout bid as Kevin Lombardi would get his 8th of the season to make it 4-1. Ilya Protas would answer right back with his 22nd goal of the season to make it 5-1, and that was the final. This win would give Hershey not only a sweep of the weekend but also the season series against the Icehogs.
Hershey still sits in fourth in the Atlantic with 58 points, and their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 30. Hershey will play a pair of early-week games against the Charlotte Checkers, then travel this weekend to Hartford and Providence after the trade deadline.
- Richard Blosser/Olde City Sports Network
- Photo Credit: Hershey Bears
