BEARS BREAK OUT FOR 4-1 WIN OVER CRUNCH
Dubé, Huntington record goal, assist; Sutter scores twice for Hershey
Pierrick Dubé and Jimmy Huntington each contributed a goal and an assist, and Riley Sutter scored twice to lead the Hershey Bears (43-11-0-5) to a 4-1 win over the Syracuse Crunch (34-19-4-2) on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 10,559 at GIANT Center.
Hershey earned a split of its regular-season series with Syracuse with a 1-1-0-0 record; the Bears improved to 8-3-0-2 against North Division clubs.
Syracuse opened the scoring midway through the first period when Gabriel Fortier stuffed home a shot past Clay Stevenson at 12:45.
The Bears drew level early in the second period when Huntington won a face-off at the left circle in the offensive zone back to Dubé, who snuck his 25th of the season past Brendan Halverson at 4:38.
Hershey took its first lead of the night at 17:36 when Huntington knocked in a Dubé rebound on the power play for his 14th of the season. Garrett Roe earned a secondary assist on the goal.
Sutter deflected a Vincent Iorio shot from the point past Halverson 34 seconds into the third period to extend the lead to 3-1. The goal was Sutter’s seventh of the season and his second in as many nights; Matt Strome collected a helper as well.
Sutter capped the scoring with an empty-net tally from Bogdan Trineyev and Strome at 17:07.
Shots finished 20-16 in favor of the Bears. Stevenson went 15-for-16 in the victory for Hershey; Halverson took the victory for Syracuse with a 16-for-19 effort. The Bears went 1-for-3 on the power play; the Crunch went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they face the Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday, March 17 at 5 p.m. at GIANT Center for Hersheypark Pass Night. All fans in attendance will receive a 2024 Hersheypark ticket, valid for one-day admission through June 30, 2024. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
