Hershey Bears Recap-12/31
Happy Holidays and Happy Festivus, one and all. The holiday break is over, and I hope you enjoyed yours. It is that weird in-between time between Christmas and New Year's, but hockey does not stop as the World Juniors start and holiday tournaments abound. Neither did the Bears, who had a pair of games this past weekend.
Hershey came back from a few days off to go up I-81 to take on the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton baby Pens once again for the 4th time this month. Hershey had Bogden Trineyev return from the Capitals, but lost Graeme Clarke, who was selected to Team Canada for the Spengler Cup for about a week.
The Bears had Garin Bjorklund in the net as it was his first game in a few weeks, and at the other end, Sergei Murashov for the throwback weekend tilt, as both teams wore throwback jerseys. The Bears did not get off to a good start; they surrendered a goal two minutes in as Nolan Renwick cleaned up a loose puck in front of Bjurklund to make it 1-0. WBS would get another goal 90 seconds later, Raivis Ansons would sling a puck past Bjorklund after a face-off scramble, and Hershey would quickly be down, 2-0.
Hershey would respond with a Bogden Trineyev goal as Aaron Ness found Trineyev in the slot to cut the lead to 2-1; it was Trineyev’s 7th of the season. But WBS would answer as Gabe Klassen would come down the left wing and get another one past Bjorklund, and WBS once again had a two goal lead, 3-1. Gabe would get another goal at the 14:10, for his fifth of the season and fourth against the Bears to make it 4-1, and Bjorklund’s night was done as he was pulled from the game. Bjorklund surrendered four goals on nine shots, and Clay Stevenson came in relief, but it didn't help as the Pens would get a Power-play Goal from Phil Tomasino to make it 5-1 and his fifth of the season.
After the first, the game calmed down as neither teams surrendered a goal, but in the third, Ivan Miroshnichenko would score on a delayed penalty to make it 5-2. WBS would keep the lead through the rest of the game despite having three power plays in the third, while Hershey had two. Hershey would fall to WBS, marking one of the worst losses of the young season.
Photo Credit: Leah Hollenbach/Olde City Sports Network
The Bears would be back at it on Sunday, December 28th, to take on the Charlotte Checkers for the second time this season. The Checkers would have Cooper Black in the net as the Bears had Mitch Gibson in the net for the home squad. The Checkers would get on the board early as Nate Smith tucked a puck past Gibson on a two on one breakaway to make it 1-0. It was Nate Smith's first goal as a Checker, and the second straight game the Bears surrendered a goal in the first few minutes.
In the second period, Nate Smith scored again on a deflected centering pass to make it 2-0. The goal was overturned due to goaltender interference as Smith had shown a broken stick into Gibson's goal crease. While not direct interference, he pushed a stick into the goalie blue paint, which could have impeded the goaltender; the score stood at 1-0. The Checkers would officially make it 2-0 as Michael Benning scored off a rare Aaron Ness turnover.
Hersey would respond with a pair of power-play goals in the third period as Spencer Smallman scored his fourth of the season and Louie Belpedio scored his third and it would tie the game at 2-2. It was Hershey's first home power play goal in a long time, as their home PP is 11.9%. Unfortunately, the Checkers would have the last laugh as Sandis Vilmanis would score off a Bears failed clearing attempt and make it 3-2 with less than 90 seconds to go. Hershey would not get the tying goal with the goalie pulled, and Charlotte would take this one, 3-2.
With the pair of losses this weekend, Hershey falls to fifth in the Atlantic Division. (14-13-1-0) With 29 points, they are falling behind the fourth place Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who have 34 points. To make it interesting, the sixth place Springfield Thunderbirds are three points behind Hershey, Hartford, and Bridgeport are four points behind Hershey. If the Bears have another 0 points weekend, they are in danger of falling in the basement of the Atlantic Division.
Hershey will take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at 3:05 pm on Wednesday afternoon, and yours truly will stream it. The Rockford Icehogs come to town this weekend for a pair of games, which includes the annual tradition of the Teddy Bear Toss game.
Go Bears and Happy New Year!
- Richard Blosser/Olde City Sports Network
- Photo Credit: Leah Hollenbach/Olde City Sports Network
