FRANK, STEVENSON POWER BEARS TO 6-0 WIN OVER MONSTERS
Hershey forward has four points, netminder rings up fourth shutout of the season
Ethen Frank enjoyed a four-point night and Clay Stevenson earned his league-leading fourth shutout of the season, as the Hershey Bears (19-5-0-0) got back in the win column with a 6-0 victory over the Cleveland Monsters (14-7-1-0) on Saturday night at GIANT Center. The victory marked Hershey’s first game at home since Nov. 26; the Bears extended their win streak on home ice to five games.
Alex Limoges put Hershey up 1-0 with the man advantage when he stood at the side of the net and deflected Frank’s one-timer past Pavel Cajan at 5:39 of the first period for his sixth goal of the season. Joe Snively added a secondary assist.
Less than five minutes later, with the Bears again on the power play, Snively dished a pass ahead to Frank in the neutral zone, and the forward sped in before beating Cajan at 9:58 for his 12th of the season. Mike Vecchione drew a secondary helper.
Early in the second frame, the Bears went to a two-man advantage after Cleveland’s Roman Ahcan was sent to the box at 2:12 for elbowing Vecchione. Pierrick Dubé added a power-play marker by redirecting Mike Sgarbossa’s wrist shot at 2:58 for his 11th tally of the season. Frank collected his third point of the night with an additional assist.
Sgarbossa made it 4-0 at 7:37 when the Monsters attempted to rim the puck around the glass in the Hershey zone, but the puck caromed off the glass into the slot, where Frank was able to nudge it ahead to Sgarbossa, who sped in on a breakaway and snapped a shot past the blocker of Cajan for his fifth of the season. For Frank, his third assist and fourth point of the night equaled his career single-game highs.
The Bears chased Cajan from the net after Dubé netted his second goal of the night, a backhand shot the forward tucked underneath the crossbar at 9:50. Hardy Häman Aktell picked up a helper on the goal. Cleveland replaced Cajan following the score with Daniil Tarasov.
Hendrix Lapierre – making his return to the lineup for Hershey following his loan earlier in the day by the Washington Capitals – netted his first of the season for the Bears at 8:33 of the third period after receiving a cross-ice pass from Jimmy Huntington and letting a shot fly that struck the arm of Tarasov and trickled into the net. Chase Priskie picked up a secondary assist on the goal.
Shots finished 33-21 in favor of Hershey. Stevenson stopped all 21 shots he faced in the win for the Bears to earn his fifth consecutive victory and ninth of the season to lead all rookie netminders; Cajan took the loss for Cleveland with an 11-for-16 effort, while Tarasov went 16-for-17. Hershey went 3-for-6 on the power play; the Monsters went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Charlotte Checkers for Hersheypark Pass Night at GIANT Center on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. All fans in attendance will receive a 2024 Hersheypark ticket, valid for one-day admission through June 30, 2024. Sunday’s contest will also feature the Bears players wearing Ugly Christmas Sweater-themed jerseys that will be auctioned off post-game. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
