BEARS, STEVENSON BLANK PHANTOMS 4-0
Hershey goalie makes 32 saves for first AHL shutout
Pierrick Dubé scored twice and Clay Stevenson earned his first pro shutout to give the Hershey Bears (5-2-0-0) a 4-0 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-3-0-0) on Saturday night at GIANT Center.
Hershey took a 1-0 lead late in the opening period when Dubé hammered a one-timer at the right circle past Phantoms goalie Cal Petersen at 18:25 to give the Bears a power-play goal. The goal was Dubé’s second of the season, and came from Joe Snively and Ivan Miroshnichenko.
The Bears added to their lead in the second period when Mike Vecchione netted his third of the season at 6:53. Both assisting players hit milestones with their contributions: Aaron Ness earned his 300th career AHL point, while Mike Sgarbossa earned his 400th career AHL point.
Defensively, the Bears received major contributions on the penalty kill late in the second, as Nic Aubé-Kubel (double-minor for high-sticking, 19:29) and Ness (minor for slashing, 19:31) were sent to the box, but goaltender Stevenson and the PK unit limited Lehigh Valley to only five shots on goal over the life of the two infractions.
Hershey widened the lead to 3-0 midway through the third when Miroshnichenko drove to the net from the left wing, and the forward’s rebound was smashed in by Dubé for his second of the night at 10:02. Ryan Hofer earned the secondary assist on the goal for his first pro point.
Logan Day added an empty-net goal from Snively at 15:46 for his first of the season to make it 4-0.
Shots finished 32-29 in favor of the Phantoms. Stevenson made an AHL career-high 32 saves on 32 shots against for the shutout; Petersen went 25-for-28 in the defeat for Lehigh Valley. Hershey was 1-for-3 on the power play; the Phantoms went 0-for-8 with the man advantage.
