The 6-3 win for the Hershey Bears over the Hartford Wolf Pack Saturday night was full of firsts. Two recent Capitals draft picks scored their first AHL goals: Maximillian Kammerer and Garrett Pilon.
Liam O’Brien and Mike Sgarbossa both scored twice and Ilya Samsonov made 28 saves to get his first win in nearly a month.
Maxi Kammerer’s first AHL goal
That first goal feeling… Congrats @mkammerer49! #HBH #DefendTheDen pic.twitter.com/uya3dIStLz
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) December 9, 2018
Kammerer’s goal got the Bears up 2-1 early in the second period. His smart play with the puck let him pass to Colby Williams, who passed the puck right back. Kammerer took the shot, and it was a good one.
Kammerer was signed to a two-year contract in May. He had four assists heading into this game, and an additional assist on Liam O’Brien’s goal gives him six points in thirteen games.
Garrett Pilon’s first AHL goal
Pilon’s first AHL goal came halfway through the third period. With both teams playing four-on-four, Pilon worked his way in front of the net and sniped a quick shot past the Wolfpack’s goaltender Alexandar Georgiev.
Pilon, like Dmitrij Jaskin, tossed an invisible monkey off his back as well.
ANOTHER FIRST! Garrett Pilon makes it 5-2 Hershey with his first AHL goal!! pic.twitter.com/IfnLLugtSM
— Chocolate Hockey (@ChocHockey) December 9, 2018
This was Pilon’s first goal with the Bears, but he has registered nine assists already, good for 10 points in 25 games played.
Hopes are high for the 2016 third-round pick, who was a scoring phenom last season in the WHL. Pilon had 80 points in 69 regular season games and capped it off with a hattrick in the playoffs.
The Bears are still last in their division, but an offensive explosion like this is a positive sign.
Headline photo: Kyle Mace/Chocolate Hockey
