4-1 VICTORY OVER PENS GIVES BEARS RECORD-BREAKING WIN
Hershey earns 52nd victory, the most in a 72-game AHL season
Jimmy Huntington broke a 1-1 tie with a shorthanded breakaway goal to help lift the Hershey Bears (52-13-0-5) to a 4-1 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (38-23-8-1) on Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 10,042 at GIANT Center. Hershey’s 52nd win of the season established a new American Hockey League record for wins in a 72-game season, breaking the mark of 51 first established by the 2022-23 Calgary Wranglers.
Hershey concluded its 12-game regular-season series against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with a record of 9-3-0-0; the Bears’ home record of 6-0-0-0 against the Penguins matches the 2009-10 Bears team for the best home-ice performance against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a single season.
Hershey appeared to take an initial 1-0 lead at 9:52 of the first when Bogdan Trineyev found some separation and fired a shot that got past Joel Blomqvist and struck the crossbar before bouncing down and to the side of the cage. Play was initially halted before a video review confirmed the puck hadn’t crossed the goal line, resulting in a no-goal call.
The Bears broke through in the dying moments of the opening frame when Logan Day one-timed a power-play goal through traffic past Blomqvist at 19:55 for his sixth of the season. Joe Snively and Mike Vecchione collected assists.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton found the tying score early in the second period at 4:02 as Dmitri Samorukov drove the net of Hunter Shepard and found Vinnie Hinostroza for a tap-in goal at the left post.
After scrapping with Raivis Ansons in the second, Dmitry Osipov made an even larger contribution in the third period with Hershey on the penalty kill, sliding to block a shot that immediately led to Riley Sutter finding Huntington for a shorthanded breakaway goal at 9:08, giving the Bears a 2-1 lead, Huntington his 16th of the season, and Osipov’s first point as a Bear.
Hershey converted again with the man advantage as Mike Vecchione hammered a Snively pass in the slot at 15:46 for a 5-on-3 power-play goal, his 17th strike of the season. Day earned the secondary assist on the goal.
Matthew Phillips capped the scoring for the Bears with an empty-net goal assisted by Vecchione at 17:46.
Shots finished 25-24 in favor of the Bears. Shepard went 23-for-24 in the victory for Hershey to earn his 27th win of the season, tying Jet Greaves of the Cleveland Monsters for both third in the AHL and first in the Eastern Conference; Blomqvist took the loss for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with a 21-for-24 effort. The Bears went 2-for-4 on the power play; the Penguins went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Charlotte Checkers at GIANT Center on Wednesday, April 17 at 7 p.m. for Berks Dollar Dog Night. Fans can purchase Berks hot dogs for $1 at select locations on the concourse during the game. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
