Here's another Hershey Bears recap as we enter the final stretch of the AHL season. Savor, embrace, and appreciate every moment of hockey still ahead.

The Bears wrapped up their last 3-in-3 weekend of the season with a trip up I-81 to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hershey pursued its first win at Mohegan Sun Arena this year and aimed to notch only its second victory over the black and gold in the season series.

The first period saw an even game between the two clubs, as both were held to 8 shots on goal. Hershey would break the 0-0 affair as Andrew Cristall would get the Bears on the board as he cleaned up a rebound in front of goaltender Murashov. It was Cristall 14th of the season for the rookie, and it was followed by a bank shot goal from Sonny Milano, to make it 2-0 Hershey with his 2nd as a Bear. Hershey would add one more as Ryan Chesley would corner snipe a shot past Murashov to make it 3-0 for the chocolate and white.

In the third period, the Pens turned up the heat and put 14 shots on goaltender Mitch Gibson, keeping most of the period in their offensive end. Aidan McDonough would get WBS on the board with his 16th of the season, just 2 and a half minutes into the period. And then on an iffy interference call on Justin Nachbaur when he skated past Murashov, and he fell over like he was tripped, drew a penalty. The Pen made Hershey pay as Rafael Harvey-Pinard scored the power-play goal from that penalty, his 15th, and it was 3-2. Hershey's defense would bend but not break as Mitch Gibson made incredible save after incredible save, and Bogdan Trieneyev would get the empty net goal on a delayed penalty to make it 4-2 and his 12th to seal the victory.

It was Hershey's just 2nd victory against the Baby Pens as Hershey is 2-7 overall against them this season and the first win against the Pens since Thanksgiving. The Bears returned home for a weekend set against the Belleville Senators, and fans hoped for a reunion with goaltender Hunter Shepard. But the hockey gods said not this season, as Hunter was traded to the Montreal Canadiens and assigned to the Laval Rocket, which Hershey had already played. Sometimes, some things in hockey are not meant to be.

Belleville came into Hershey after resting in Hershey this week, sporting the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Hershey took advantage in the first as Ilya Protas scored on a backdoor feed from Bogadan Trieneyev to make it 1-0, though Belleville would tie the game in the closing minutes as Djibril Toure would get his first of the season to make it 1-1.

Hershey would regain the lead as former Senator Wyatt Bongiovanni got his 12th of the season and his first as a Bear to make it 2-1. But the Senators would slowly take over the game, scoring the next three goals, as Mark Duarte got his fourth and Xavier Bourgault got his 17th, giving Belleville the lead.

Then, in a late 2nd period, power play saw Graeme Clarke get his revenge and score to make it 4-2 and give a little extra celebration after the goal. Bogdan Trineyev would bring Hershey within one with his 13th on the power play goal to make it 4-3. However, Ryan Chesley would blind-pass the puck behind the net to a Senator, who fed a streaking Hayden Hodgson for his 6th, and the comeback is derailed, 5-3. The Senators would get an empty net goal with little resistance by Keean Washkurak to make it 65-3 for the final. After getting 8 shots on goal in the first period, the Bears would get only 9 more shots for the rest of the game, for a total of 17, in a lackluster performance.

To add injury to insult, Ilya Protas left the game after colliding with the goal post and went down the tunnel after the shift on the ice. Thankfully, he is okay and was held out of Sunday’s game out of precaution.

Hershey and Belleville had their rematch on Sunday. Hershey was without Protas and had tried players for this game. Belleville started the scoring early as Graeme Clarke would get another point on his return to Hershey, for his 19th of the season. Ollie Lycksell would get a goal after a Bears’ power play and was fed a puck from the released player and picked the top corner on goaltender Garin Bjorklund to make it 2-0.

In the second period, Sonny Milano would give Bears fans hope of making it 2-1 with his third of the season. However, Belleville would score thstraight goals from Xavier Bourgault, Landen Hookey, and Tomas Hamara to make it 5-1 and send fans to the exits early on a Sunday afternoon. The Bears would get a garbage-time goal from Alex Suzdalev, who did not even do the fist-bump line after the goal to make it 5-2. But the Senators took both games this weekend at the Giant Center and went 3-1 against the Bears this season.

Fan disappointment and frustration grew this weekend as the Bears were booed off the ice Sunday, and Coach King’s comments after the game did not help. Coach King Comments after Sunday about leader voices in the locker room “WE have good leaders, but only a few right now, but it’s tough on them, and they do not want to hear from me now. This is what, 60 games into it? The old man they’ve locked me out probably a couple of weeks ago.”

To me, it sounds like he has lost the locker room, that Coach King has been blocked out, and that players are doing whatever they want. If the players are not listening to the Coach, then what are they listening to? I have said on my podcast, Grit and Bear IT Podcast, that this feels like five guys skating around, not a team.

Hearing these comments is not a good look for all Bears fans and confirms many of the problems I have discussed on my show and in recap videos. Hersey has 12 games to figure it out and try to keep 4th in the Atlantic, because the Phantoms, Islanders, and Thunderbirds are coming for Hershey. The King has no chocolate nor clothes, and we truly are adrift at sea.

- Rich Blosser/Olde City Sports Network

- Photo Credit: Hershey Bears

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