The Hershey Bears defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2-0 on night one of back-to-back games between the two teams. This was the team’s second win against the Phantoms so far this season. The Bears are now 9-3-0 and remain first in the league.
Clay Stevenson pitched a shutout tonight after Bears starting goaltender Hunter Shepard received a call-up to the Capitals this morning. Stevenson faced 24 shots from the Phantoms while in net tonight.
Other player highlights include Logan Day registering his 100th career AHL point on an assist. Mike Sgarbossa also had an assist tonight, and now has assists in six straight games.
Mike Vecchione opened scoring for the Bears 10:04 into the first period. Vecchione settled a bouncing puck tipped by Mike Sgarbossa and fired it towards the net. The puck hit the left post, but ricocheted off Phantoms goaltender Parker Gahagen’s back and into the net.
Veccs’ fifth of the season starts us off!
🍎 Sgarbossa pic.twitter.com/B4rXe7nbd4
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) November 12, 2023
An initial shot from the right circle by Pierrick Dube was stopped, but he continued to skate behind the net. The rebound found the stick of Bears forward Logan Day, who passed it back to Dube. He wrapped around to the front of the net and took a wrist shot that beat the Phantoms goaltender.
Fifth of the season for Dubes 🖐️
🍎 Day
🍏 Ness pic.twitter.com/1YSnpcW0Tl— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) November 12, 2023
The Phantoms tried to power back, but Stevenson stopped all 11 shots faced in the 3rd period – including three with the Phantoms’ goaltender pulled – to help power the Bears to the win.
Here are the video highlights of the game provided by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms:
And below is the full game recap from the Hershey Bears:
BEARS BLANK PHANTOMS 2-0
Vecchione, Dubé score for Hershey as Stevenson blanks Lehigh Valley for second time this season
(Allentown, PA – Nov. 11, 2023) – Mike Vecchione and Pierrick Dubé scored, and Clay Stevenson pitched his second shutout of the season as the Hershey Bears (9-3-0-0) beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (4-6-2-0) by a 2-0 final on Saturday night at PPL Center.
Hershey took a 1-0 lead midway through the opening period when Vecchione settled a bouncing puck at the left circle and banked a shot off the left post before it caromed off the arm of Parker Gahagen and into the net at 10:04 as Mike Sgarbossa drove the lane, with Sgarbossa receiving the lone assist, his sixth straight game with a helper.
Dubé gave the Bears a two-goal edge at 10:07 of the second period when Logan Day grabbed the rebound of Dubé’s initial shot out of the corner and found the forward behind the Lehigh Valley net, allowing Dubé to stash it through the pads of Gahagen for his fifth of the season. The helper marked Day’s 100th career professional and AHL point, and Aaron Ness received credit for a secondary assist.
The Phantoms pressed in the third period, out-shooting Hershey by an 11-5 margin, but Stevenson and the Bears shut the door the rest of the way.
Shots finished 24-21 in favor of the Phantoms. Stevenson went 24-for-24 for Hershey to pick up his fourth victory of the season and his second shutout win over Lehigh Valley; Gahagen went 19-for-21 in the loss for Lehigh Valley. Hershey was 0-for-2 on the power play; the Phantoms went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
Headline Photo: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
