Hershey Bears Hall Of Fame and Rivalry Weekend
This past weekend for the Hershey Bears was a time of looking back and looking forward, as it was Hall of Fame weekend. The Hershey Bears Hall of Fame inducted four new members this past weekend: Alexandre Giroux, Chris Bourque, Boyd Kane, Mike McHugh, and media personality William W. “Tiny” Parry.
Hershey also wore the throwback jerseys from the 1970s with the chocolate skating bear design, as it was the style of the 1974 Calder Cup Champions. When the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins came to town on Saturday, December 6th, they, too, wore throwbacks inspired by the 2004-2005 season.
The Bears would get on the board halfway through the first period as Brett Leason would wire a puck past goalie Joel Blomqvist to make it 1-0. Hershey would hold the lead through the 1st period and most of the 2nd, as it seemed Hershey's goalie, Garin Bjorklund, was having a good outing.
Unfortunately, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would tie it late in the second as Valtteri Puustinen would score on a net-mouth scramble after Bjorklund had lost the rebound. It was Puustinen’s third of the season, and the score was 1-1 heading into the third.
Leah Hollenbach/Olde City Sports Network
Early in the 3rd, the game turned when Puustinen scored under a minute into the period after Bjorklund appeared to stop a shot, but the puck rolled over his glove and over the goal line. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lead 2-1, and this is what I would call “A goal that leads to more goals.” Then, a minute later, Gabe Klassen would receive a pass through the Hershey defense and slide a puck under Bjorklund to extend WBS's lead, 3-1, on his third of the season and second against the Bears. Things would get worse as Aidan McDonough would sneak a lazy wrister from he boards that hit Bjorklund’s armpit and bounced into the goal. With the score 4-1, WBS had sealed the game as they would spoil the Hall of Fame party and win 4-1. WBS now has a 2-1 advantage in the series
On Sunday, December 7th, Hershey will take on their other rival in the Keystone State, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Phantoms wore Keystone-inspired jerseys against the Bears, as Hershey wore the 1970s throwback jerseys again.
The Bears would get the first goal once again as Louie Belpedio would get a goal just as a power play expired to give Hershey a 1-0 lead. It was Louie’s second goal of the season and his first against his old club. The Phantoms answer in the second period was Alex Bump, who would net his sixth of the season to tie the game. Hershey would respond with a Brett Leason goal for his third of the season and second of the weekend to make it 2-1 going into the third period.
However, the Phantoms would tie the game once more off a Ryan Chasley turnover to Phantoms forward Denver Barkey, who would set up Jacob Gaucher's 3rd goal of the season. The game would enter a stalemate as the 3rd wore on, as both teams battled to break the 2-2 tie. Hershey would end up doing so as Brett Leason cleaned up a loose rebound scramble and gave Hershey the lead, 3-2, with 3:30 to go. It was Leason's fourthh of the season and third on the weekend, and it was enough to give Hershey the win on an afternoon.
Hershey would split the weekend with 1-1 and is 12-8-1-0 on the season. The Hershey Bears have a busy week ahead with three games in 4 days at Giant Center. The Providence Bruins come in for a pair of games, followed by the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Charlotte Checkers.
- Richard Blosser/Olde City Sports Network
- Photo Credit: Leah Hollenbach/Olde City Sports Network