Sunday afternoon, the Hershey Bears picked up their second straight win, a 4-3 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack. The game was Hershey’s annual Pink the Rink game to support the fight against breast cancer.
While it was a special night for Riley Barber, whose mom Stacy participated in the ceremonial puck drop, it may have been an even more emotional night for defenseman Lucas Johansen.
Johansen scored his first professional goal in the second period of the game, dedicating it to his late grandmother.
Late in the second frame, with the Bears up 2-1, Johansen tallied a power play goal, the first AHL goal of his career.
Johansen took a pass from the point and circled back towards the left faceoff dot before letting a perfectly-placed wrist shot fly.
Colby Williams and Wayne Simpson assisted on the marker at 15:23 of the second.
Johansen has played well in his AHL rookie season, tallying three assists so far this season to go along with his goal Sunday. Johansen joins Jonas Siegenthaler and Connor Hobbs in tallying their first professional goals this season.
Stick taps to @LucasJohansen97 on his first #AHL goal tonight! 🚨 #HBH #DefendTheDen pic.twitter.com/BAfefvLGHc
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) October 30, 2017
On a night in which the Bears honored survivors of breast cancer and remembered those who have passed, Johansen’s goal had special meaning.
“So my grandma, she battled breast cancer so I wrote ‘Lilly’, her name was Lilly, on the stick,” Johansen said to Chocolate Hockey. “That was one of the first thoughts I had [after the goal.] That one was for Lilly – my dad’s mom.”
Forgot to share these: two close up looks at Johansen's first goal. Beaker put some of the pink sock tape and a pin in the puck for him pic.twitter.com/q1OXy6GhO7
— Kyle Mace (@kyle_mace) October 30, 2017
Headline image: @TheHersheyBears
