Bears Recap for 3/24
Hi Bears fans, it's the last 10 games of the season, and the Bears are trying to stay afloat in the Calder Cup Playoffs. 2 teams in the division have already clinched playoff spots in the Providence Bruins and WBS Baby Penguins. The Charlotte Checkers, who are above the Hershey Bears, are not far behind in the clinching hunt. The Bears sought to push their magic number down from 19 this past weekend as they took on the Bridgeport Islanders, who, in an announcement earlier in the week, are moving to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, after 25 seasons in Bridgeport.
On Saturday, March 21, the Bears are visiting Total Mortgage Arena for the penultimate time to take on the Bridgeport Islanders. The Bears were 2-0 against the Blue and Orange this season. Andrew Cristall started the scoring for the chocolate and white with his 15th of the season to make it 1-0 just 91 seconds into the game. Sonny Milano would get his 4th from a nice pass from a returning Henrik Rybinski to give Hershey a 2-0 lead going into the intermission.
However, the Islanders would get their first goal just 2 minutes into the 2nd period as Liam Foundy got his 22nd goal of the season to cut the lead to 2-1. But the Bears would respond with an Ilya Protas goal at 8:46 of the period to give the Bears a 2-goal lead once more, 3-1. But the Islanders would answer again as former Thunderbird, Matthew Highmore, would net his 11th of the season to make it 3-2 heading into the 3rd period.
In the 3rd period, the Islanders would tie the game as Daylan Kuefler would get his 17th of the season and Hershey saw its 2-goal lead vanish. Both teams tried to get the go-ahead goal, but neither scored in the rest of the 3rd period, nor did in overtime. So, we went to the skills competition or the shootout. Sonny Milano scored for the Bears, only to be answered by Bridgeport's Matt Luff in the 7th round. Alex Jefferies scored to seal the extra point for Bridgeport and complete the comeback, 4-3. Hershey saw two 2-goal leads vanish and would add to the frustration of Bears fans heading into the rematch at Giant Center.
On Sunday, March 22nd, the rematch between the Bears and Islanders took place on a mild, early-spring Sunday afternoon. Fans packed the Giant Center on HersheyPark pass night, and the Hershey faithful needed a win for the falling Bears. The Islanders came to Giant Center with a 10-game road losing streak as well.
The Islanders would score first on Garin Bjorklund by Adam Beckman for his 23rd of the season to make it 1-0. Hershey would respond early in the second as Leon Muggli would score his first professional goal as the puck found its way to the back of the net through heavy traffic, and it was 1-1. And then Bridgeport went on a run, as Cam Thiesing and Liam Foudy both scored on shots that seemed to be stopped by Bjorklund but leaked through him; it was 3-1. Bridgeport would get 2 more goals by Joey Larson, who walked in front of Bjorklund untouched and whistled a backhand shot past the goaltender, to make it 4-1. Then Adam Beckman would score on a partial breakaway, while both of these are not completely Bjorklund’s fault, the team in front of him was not helping.
The Bears were booed off the ice by the Giant Center crowd after a period that saw the Bears play, dare I say, uninspired and lifeless hockey. In the third period, the Bears showed some life as Corey Schueneman would score on a shot from the half boards to make it 5-2, and Jon McDonald would get a goal from the left line to make things interesting at 5-3, his 3rd of the season. Bridgeport would take their timeout to try and regain momentum, but the Bears would take a slashing penalty, and the former Bear Ethan Bear would deliver the comeback kill shot with his 3rd of the season, a PPG, and it was 6-3, and that was the final.
The Bears lost the home-and-home series, blowing a lead in Bridgeport and then getting blown out at Giant Center, leaving everyone frustrated. The Bears' magic number is 17 with 10 games to go, meaning Hershey needs to win at least half of its remaining games and needs the 6th-place team in the division to lose. Hershey has done no favors over the past months with loser points and blowout home losses, which make it look like this team is thinking about Cancun rather than a playoff appearance. The Bears start an 8-game road trip, which may help them, as it will get them away from Giant Center for a while, but they have a lot of work to do and little time to do it in.
-Rich Blosser / Olde City Sports Network
-Photo Credit / Hershey Bears
