BEARS RIDE INTO ALL-STAR BREAK WITH 4-0 WIN OVER ISLANDERS
Hunter Shepard turns in 25-save shutout for Hershey
Two early first-period goals and Hunter Shepard’s second shutout performance of the season helped power the Hershey Bears (36-8-0-2) to an eventual 4-0 win over the Bridgeport Islanders (13-25-5-0) in front of a Saturday night crowd of 10,583 at GIANT Center. The Bears head into the American Hockey League’s All-Star break atop the league standings, with a 13-point lead on the second-place Providence Bruins.
The victory gave Hershey its fifth straight home win, and Bears head coach Todd Nelson earned his 389th career head coaching victory in the AHL to move past former Hartford/Connecticut bench boss Ken Gernander (388) for sole possession of eighth on the AHL’s head coaching wins list.
The Bears concluded the regular-season series with Bridgeport with a 5-0-0-1 record.
It took just over two minutes for the Bears to find twine, as Pierrick Dubé netted his 24th of the season at the 2:01 mark of the first period on Hershey’s second shot of the game, as Ivan Miroshnichenko took hold of the puck behind the Bridgeport net and fed it out in front to Dubé, who shot it past Ken Appleby. Dubé is now tied with Springfield’s Adam Gaudette for the AHL’s goal-scoring lead.
Aaron Ness tallied at 4:40 with a flick of the wrist from the top of the left circle for his third of the season, from Joe Snively and Hendrix Lapierre, to make it 2-0.
Mike Vecchione beat Appleby for his 14th of the season with a shot through the five-hole at 4:02 of the second period to make it 3-0 off a pass from Mike Sgarbossa; Jake Massie earned a secondary assist.
Lapierre and Snively combined again to set up Alex Limoges’ goal at 16:10 to of the third period to cap the scoring. It was Limoges’ 11th of the season and came in his first game back after missing the previous nine games due to an upper-body injury.
Shots finished 28-25 in favor of the Bears. Shepard stopped all 25 shots he faced in the win for Hershey, his 18th of the season; Appleby took the loss for Bridgeport with a 24-for-28 effort. The Bears went 0-for-1 on the power play; the Islanders went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they open up a five-game road trip starting against the Providence Bruins at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7:05 p.m. Hershey is back at GIANT Center to host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. for Michelob Ultra Can Holder Night. The first 3,000 fans in attendance 21-and-over will receive a Bears can holder, courtesy of the Michelob Ultra; fans 21-and-over can also take advantage of a pre-game Happy Hour, featuring 16 oz. Bud Light cans for just $5, available from when doors open until puck drop. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
