Home / News / Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael score goals in Hershey Bears’ 5-2 loss to Phantoms

Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael score goals in Hershey Bears’ 5-2 loss to Phantoms

By Ian Oland

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February 2, 2023 12:04 am

The Hershey Bears lost to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5-2 on Wednesday. The loss was the Bears’ first loss to their I-78 rival after beginning the season series (7-0-0-0). It also ended the Bears’ season-high seven-game road point streak (6-0-1-0) and marked only the second time Hershey has suffered consecutive losses in regulation this season.

But the news wasn’t all bad.

Two of the Washington Capitals’ top prospects, Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas, scored in the game.

McMichael nabbed his tenth goal of the season after deflecting a Lucas Johansen shot with 11:38 left in the first. The goal gave the Bears a 1-0 lead, but their lead would not last.

The Bears surrendered four consecutive goals in the second period to the Phantoms before pushing back late in the third.

Protas scored his first goal of the 2022-23 season on a mid-air deflection after Hendrix Lapierre made an absolutely electric backhand saucer pass to the slot. That brought the Bears within two.

But Hershey could not rally beyond that and the Phantoms sealed the game with an empty-netter to make it 5-2.

Protas, who was playing in his first game since being sent down by the Capitals this morning, had 3 shots, second most on the team. McMichael now has four goals and 10 points in his last 10 games.

McMichael centered the second line while Protas skated on the wing of the third with Lapierre in the middle.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB

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