Bears Recap for 3/30
We are down to the last stretch of Hershey Bears Hockey, so remember, love, hug, and cherish whatever you like, because it will be gone before you know it.
The Hershey Bears kicked off an 8-game road stretch as they traveled up I-81 to take on the Syracuse for the 4th and final time this season. This is the first time the two teams have met since November 14th, and the Crunch lead the season series 2-1.
Neither team would score in the first as both goaltenders, Mitch Gibson for the Bears and Brendan Halverson for the Crunch, stood tall. Hershey would break the scoreless tie as Wyatt Bongiovanni scored his 14th of the season to make it 1-0. Andrew Cristall and Brett Leason would extend the lead to 3-0 as Andrew got his 16th of his rookie campaign and Leason’s 13th, and it was a short-handed goal.
But the Crunch would get on the board with two quick goals from Dylan Duke on the power-play, his 31st, and Conor Geekie a minute later with his 17th to make it 3-2 after 2 periods. However, Alex Suzdalev would score after Kyler Kupka stole from a Crunch defender and found Suzdalev streaking in to make it 4-2. The Crunch would get a goal from Matthew Peca to make it 4-3 with 4 minutes to go, but the Bears would hold on to win the game and snap a 4-game losing streak.
The Bears traveled back down I-81 to Allentown to face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the 10th and final time this season. Hershey has a 4-game losing streak against the orange and black and had a chance to chip away at their playoff magic number. The Phantoms would get on the board first as former Penguin, Wild, and Crunch forward Boris Katchouk for his 8th, and it was 1-0.
The Bears had tied the game minutes later after Andrew Cristall chipped a puck past Kolosov to make it 1-1. But the refs huddled up and determined that Leon Muggli was offside as he batted a puck out of the air at the blueline to help set up said goal. The refs came to this decision with no video replay and no objection from Phantoms players, so a goal was allowed because of an “Oops!”
But in the second period, the Bears would get that goal back as Ilya Protas would score on the power play to make it 1-1, for the 27th goal of his rookie year. But the Phantoms would get the lead back a minute later after the Phantoms won a faceoff and slid a puck over to a wide-open Katchouk for his 2nd of the game and his 9th of the season.
The Bears battled in the third period, and Brett Leason tied the game after a gaffe by Kolosov, who lost sight of the puck. It is tied 2-2. But the tie was short-lived once again as Phil Tomasino scored on a breakaway to make it 3-2, 65 seconds later. The Bears tried to pull the goalie for the extra attacker with 2 minutes to go, but Ilya Protas took a hooking call, and the Phantoms scored as Boris got his hat trick. It was Katchouk’s 10th of the season and the dagger for the Bears.
With Bridgeport winning on Sunday afternoon, the Islanders are a point back from the Bears, who are at 65 points and barely in 4th place. The Bears play the Islanders on Wednesday morning for a school day game, and you'll truly be there. The Bears will go to Springfield on Friday and then Hartford on Saturday to close out the weekend. The Bears have backed themselves into a corner, and it is time to come out swinging or go play golf.
Rich Blosser / Olde City Sports Network
Photos Credit / Thom Freeman / Olde City Sports Network
