MCILRATH SCORES TWICE FOR BEARS IN 4-3 WIN OVER BRUINS
Hershey heads into holiday break with best start through first 30 games in franchise history
Dylan McIlrath enjoyed the second two-goal game of his career and the Hershey Bears (24-6-0-0) triumphed over the Providence Bruins (14-12-2-2) on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 9,601 at GIANT Center to head into the American Hockey League’s holiday break atop the league standings and riding a five-game winning streak.
In addition to their 24 wins so far, the Bears’ 48 points in the standings is also the most by the club through its first 30 games of any season in its 86-year history of play in the AHL.
Vincent Iorio opened the scoring for Hershey at 10:15 of the first period when he took a pass from Matt Strome and let a wrist shot go from the right point that evaded the blocker of Michael DiPietro for Iorio’s fourth of the season. Riley Sutter received a secondary assist on the goal.
The Bruins tied the score early in the second period as Joey Abate forced a turnover as Clay Stevenson attempted to play the puck in the trapezoid, and Abate found Marc McLaughlin, whose shot was knocked in by Vincent Arseneau at 2:06.
The Bears responded a little over half a minute later, however, as McIlrath unloaded a shot from the right point that beat DiPietro high to the blocker side at 2:38 for McIlrath’s second of the season, with Chase Priskie and Joe Snively contributing assists.
McIlrath found twine again at 5:21 to give Hershey a 3-1 edge, with a wrist shot from the right point that evaded DiPietro, giving McIlrath the second two-goal game of his AHL career, and his first since April 12, 2018 as a member of the Grand Rapids Griffins at San Antonio. Aaron Ness and Strome picked up helpers on the goal.
Providence pulled back to within a goal when Anthony Richard tallied at 14:45.
Hershey restored the two-goal lead early in the third period when Priskie found Pierrick Dubé in the slot, and the forward’s one-timer banked off the equipment of DiPietro and a Providence defender into the cage at the 2:08 mark for his 16th of the season. Garret Roe picked up an additional assist on the goal. For Dubé, the goal moved him into a tie with Springfield’s Adam Gaudette and Rochester’s Jiri Kulich for the AHL’s goal-scoring lead.
With DiPietro pulled for an extra skater in the final minutes, Reilly Walsh got a goal back for Providence at 19:15, but the Bears closed the game out.
Shots finished 30-22 in favor of the Bruins. Stevenson went 27-for-30 to earn his 10th victory of the season, tops among rookie netminders; DiPietro took the loss for Providence with an 18-for-22 effort. Hershey went 0-for-1 on the power play; the Bruins went 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when theyhost the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for Mascot Mania at GIANT Center on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. Hershey characters, local sponsors, and sports team mascots will be on-site to interact with fans. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
