Washington Capitals center prospects Hendrix Lapierre and Connor McMichael teamed up to help the Hershey Bears down the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4-2 on Wednesday.
The two young forwards scored the Bears’ first two goals of the game. The victory moved Hershey into first place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division and first place in the league overall with 30 standings points from 20 games played.
Lapierre was first on the board as he opened the game’s scoring with three minutes remaining in the first period.
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The play was started by defenseman Bobby Nardella making a slick move at the blue line to beat two Phantoms defenders before feeding fellow Caps prospect Henrik Rybinski who had cut toward the net. Rybinski then fooled both a defenseman and the goaltender by not shooting and instead slipping the puck across the slot to a wide-open Lapierre for a tap-in.
The marker was Lapierre’s fifth of the season and his 14th point in 20 games. The 20-year-old center remains tied with Mason Morelli for the overall team lead in scoring.
McMichael’s strike came mid-way through the second period after Lehigh Valley had tied the game at one goal apiece.
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With the Bears on a power play, McMichael received a feed from Nardella at the top of the left faceoff circle. The 21-year-old pivot then took a short stride toward the net before firing home a wicked wrister to the top shelf.
It was McMichael’s 16th career goal for the Bears after leading them in scoring during the 2020-21 season with 27 points (14g, 13a) in 33 games. He has been skating on the team’s second line with Henrik Borgstrom and Sam Anas since being sent down by the Caps on November 20.
There hasn’t been a ton of immediate success for the Caps’ 2019 first-round selection upon his return to the AHL. He has just two points in six games although he has played a lot of minutes on a Bears team that has won five games in a row and sits atop the entire league.
Screenshot via @TheHersheyBears/Twitter
