NINE-GAME WIN STREAK SNAPPED FOR BEARS IN 5-3 LOSS TO WOLF PACK
Roe picks up two points for Hershey
The Hershey Bears (28-7-0-0) saw their second season-high nine-game win streak snapped in a 5-3 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack (18-15-5-0) on Saturday night at GIANT Center. The defeat also ended Hershey’s season-high six-game win streak on home ice.
Hartford took a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 11:30 of the first period as Jake Leschyshyn knocked home a loose puck at the left of Bears goaltender Clay Stevenson. The goal marked the first time Hershey had surrendered a power-play goal since Dec. 13 vs. Providence, ending an eight-game stretch for the Bears.
Late in the period, Aaron Ness negated a Hartford breakout at the left point of the Wolf Pack blue line. His shot was redirected by Ivan Miroshnichenko and Garrett Roe past Louis Domingue at 17:58 to tie the game with Roe’s fourth tally of the season.
The Bears took their first lead of the night at 1:37 of the second period, when Hershey’s power-play unit skated into the offensive zone and Jimmy Huntington put home his seventh of the season at 1:37 from Mike Vecchione and Roe.
Henrik Rybinski gave the Bears a two-goal cushion with his second goal in as many games at 2:16, as Alex Limoges passed the puck to Riley Sutter, who threaded the puck through two Hartford skaters to Rybinski in the neutral zone for a breakaway. Rybinski head-faked as he skated in on Domingue to draw the netminder to the left, then lofted a backhand shot past the blocker of a sliding Domingue into the top-right corner of the net for his second of the season.
Hartford battled back before the frame was up, however, as Matthew Robertson scored at 12:33 and Connor Mackey drew the visitors level at 16:57 to make it a 3-3 score.
The Wolf Pack regained a 4-3 lead 23 seconds into the third period when Hershey found itself hemmed within its own zone, and an opportunistic Brett Berard smacked the puck through Stevenson.
A late penalty to Hartford put the Bears on the man advantage with under two minutes remaining in regulation, and Hershey pulled Stevenson in a gamble to try and tie the game, but Leschyshyn scored his second of the night, a shorthanded empty-netter, at 18:17.
Shots finished 29-25 in favor of the Wolf Pack. Stevenson put up a 24-for-28 effort in the loss for Hershey; Domingue earned the victory for Hartford with a 22-for-25 effort. Hershey went 1-for-5 on the power play; the Wolf Pack went 1-for-2 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when theyhost their world-famous GIANT Teddy Bear Toss against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at GIANT Center on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m. All fans are encouraged to bring new, stuffed items to the game to toss onto the ice as the Bears score their first goal. All items collected will be donated to local charities. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
