The Hershey Bears (1-1-0-0) picked up their first victory of their 2023 preseason schedule with a 1-0 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (2-1-0-0) on Friday Night at GIANT Center in front of announced crowd of 6,823.
It took until 5:30 into the contest before either team registered a shot on goal, but Alex Suzdalev’s shot kicked off a flurry of offensive activity. The Bears registered five consecutive shots on goal, with Pierrick Dubé finding the net at 7:51 on a goal from Mike Vecchione and Jimmy Huntington to give Hershey a 1-0 lead.
Late in the frame Vecchione was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a slash to Justin Addamo at 18:50, which placed the Bears on an extended penalty kill that carried over into the middle stanza, but Hershey weathered the potential storm and killed off the infraction.
A spirited second was capped by a scrap between Hershey’s Tyson Empey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Thimo Nickl at 17:34. Hershey out-shot the Penguins in the frame by an 11-3 margin to open up an overall 20-5 shot differential.
The Penguins out-shot Hershey in the third period by a 7-5 margin, but goaltender Clay Stevenson shut the door the rest of the way for the Bears.
Shots finished 25-12 in favor of the Bears. Stevenson earned the shutout win with a 12-for-12 effort; Joel Blomqvist went 24-for-25 in the loss for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Hershey was 0-for-3 on the power play; the Penguins finished 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
Hershey closes out its 2023 exhibition schedule when the Chocolate and White visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 1:05 p.m. at PPL Center. The Bears then get set to open their 86th AHL season and defend their Calder Cup championship on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. when they face the Belleville Senators at GIANT Center. Prior to the game, the Bears will raise their 12th Calder Cup championship banner to the GIANT Center rafters. All fans in attendance can score their own Calder Cup Champions Mini Banner, courtesy of Members 1st Federal Credit Union. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the popular Home Opener Red Carpet Event. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
