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Ethen Frank scores three points in Bears’ dominant 5-2 win over Monsters

By Faith Harris

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October 15, 2023 9:59 pm

The Hershey Bears dominated the Cleveland Monsters 5-2 on Sunday after sputtering a night before. Hershey scored its first goals of the season after getting shut out by the Belleville Senators 4-0 on their banner-raising night, commemorating their 2023 Calder Cup Championship.

Ethen Frank was named the First Star of the Night after notching three points — a goal and two assists — in the game. Frank, who had four shots on the night, was the team’s leading goal-scorer last year.

Notably, Caps prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko scored his first AHL point, an assist, on a goal by Hardy Häman Aktell. The tally was also Häman Aktell’s first AHL career goal. Pierrick Dubé also scored his first goal as a Bear.

Haman Aktell’s first North American goal opened the scoring 7:32 into the first period.

Frank got on the board just four and a half minutes later sending a wrister underneath the left pad of Monsters’ goaltender Pavel Cajan on the power play.

A goal from Mike Vecchione on a two-on-one with Frank finished off the goals for the first period. Vecchione completed two “100” milestones on this play-his 100th point as a Bear and his 100th pro goal.

Pierrick Dubé got his official “Welcome to the Bears” moment, finishing a pass from Hendrix Lapierre for his first goal with the team.

Bears veteran Mike Sgarbossa finished off scoring for the night, sending a wrister under the goalie’s glove on a two-man rush with Vecchione. Frank got the second assist for his third point on the night.

Afterwards the players took photos with their new milestone pucks.

Below is the full game recap from the Hershey Bears:

BEARS TAKE DOWN MONSTERS 5-2 TO GET FIRST WIN OF SEASON

Ethen Frank gets three points for Hershey; Mike Vecchione’s game-winner is his 100th Bears point and 100th pro goal

(Hershey, PA – Oct. 15, 2023) – The Hershey Bears (1-1-0-0) used three first-period goals to fuel their first victory of the 2023-24 season, a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Monsters (1-1-0-0) on Sunday evening at GIANT Center.

Forward Ethen Frank led the way for Hershey with a three-point (1g, 2a) outing, while linemate Mike Vecchione netted the game-winning tally and an assist.

BOX SCORE

Hershey opened the scoring with its first goal of the season at 7:32 of the first period when Hardy Häman Aktell’s shot from the left point deflected into the air and dropped behind Pavel Cajan into the net to put the Bears up 1-0. For Häman Aktell, the goal marked his first American Hockey League goal, while Ivan Miroshnichenko earned the primary assist for his first AHL point; Pierrick Dubé earned a secondary helper on the goal.

Hershey converted with the man advantage to take a 2-0 lead when Frank buried his first of the season from the left circle at 11:59 from Alex Limoges and Mike Sgarbossa.

Brendan Gaunce got the Monsters on the board at 15:19 when he chopped at a loose puck following a point shot from Jake Christiansen and knocked it past Clay Stevenson.

Vecchione restored the two-goal edge for the Bears at 17:28 when he broke in with Frank on a 2-on-1 and zipped a cross-ice pass behind Cajan for his first of the season. The tally also marked Vecchione’s 100th career professional and AHL goals, along with his 100th point as a Bear.

Cleveland again drew back to within a goal at 8:54 of the second period when Marcus Bjork skated up the right side and banked the puck into the cage off the far post.

With less than a minute remaining in the stanza and the Bears on the power play, Dubé found twine just before the penalty to Cleveland’s Trey Fix-Wolansky expired at 19:05, giving Hershey a 4-2 edge to head into the intermission. Hendrix Lapierre and Joe Snively assisted on the goal.

Sgarbossa put the game away in the third at 16:37 when the Bears were able to enter the offensive zone on another 2-on-1 rush and the forward snapped his first of the season past the glove of Cajan.

Shots finished 27-21 in favor of the Bears. Stevenson picked up his first win of the season with a 19-for-21 performance; Cajan went 22-for-27 in net in the loss for Cleveland. Hershey was 2-for-4 on the power play; the Monsters went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

The Bears embark on a four-game road trip when they face the Providence Bruins at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Friday, Oct. 20 at 7:05 p.m. Hershey is back on home ice when it hosts the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at GIANT Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. for PNC Bank Magnet Schedule Night; the first 8,000 fans in attendance will receive a 2023-24 season magnet schedule, courtesy of PNC Bank. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.

Headline photo: Tori Hartman/Hershey Bears

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