Hershey Bears’ goaltender Hunter Shepard made 33 saves and registered his first pro career point in Hershey’s 4-1 victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds Wednesday night.
Shepard received credit for a secondary assist on an empty net goal from Ethen Frank with 1:49 left in the game.
Shepard’s first point comes 112 games into his pro hockey career. Since being signed by the Bears in 2020, Shepard has split his 112 games across every level of the Capitals organization, playing 44 with the Stingrays in the ECHL, 68 with Hershey in the AHL, and 4 up in Washington so far. The victory improved Shepard’s record on the season to an incredible 16-2-1-1.
After a scoreless first period, assistant captain Mike Vecchione got the Bears on the board 9:37 into the second. Forward Pierrick Dube made a diving pass from behind the goal net to Vecchione, who skated in towards the net and fired the puck past Thunderbirds netminder Malcolm Subban.
Huntington got a second goal for the Bears before the end of the second period. Huntington skated up the slot and fired the puck past the goaltender, sending the Bears into the third period with a 2-0 lead.
Springfield finally got on the board 12:36 into the third period, making the score 2-1.
The Thunderbirds pulled Subban for the extra man with 1:52 left in the third period. However, they weren’t able to stop Capitals prospect Ethen Frank, who scored an empty net goal with an assist from Shepard in net. Dube scored a second empty netter with 45 seconds left in the game to give the Bears a 4-1 victory.
Here were the lines for the Bears:
Tonight's projected lineup against the T-Birds📝
Pierrick Dubé leads the Bears with two goals against Springfield this season!
Catch tonight's broadcast:
🖥️ https://t.co/HaxQBmLCRZ
📻@FroggyValley, @foxsports1460am, @WOYK1350 (joined in-progress) pic.twitter.com/1sYRxPIHaq— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) January 24, 2024
Here are the highlights from the game:
Hershey’s record is now 32-7-0-2 on the season.
Below is the full Bears’ press release:
BEARS TOP THUNDERBIRDS, 4-1
Hershey wins third straight; Shepard makes 33 saves and earns first career assist
(Hershey, PA – Jan. 24, 2024) – The Hershey Bears (32-7-0-2) picked up a 4-1 victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds (18-17-3-2) on Wednesday night at GIANT Center. Hershey has now won three straight games and extended its point streak to six contests (4-0-0-2).
The Bears improved to 3-0-0-0 against Springfield this season. Hershey has now won nine straight contests against the Thunderbirds dating back to the 2021-22 season, and has a point streak that extends back even further, as the Bears have posted a record of 11-0-2-0 against Springfield dating back to Jan. 24, 2020. Hershey is also 16-2-1-0 on home ice vs. Springfield since the Thunderbirds came into existence in 2016-17.
The win also gave Bears head coach Todd Nelson his 385th career head coaching victory in the American Hockey League to move him past Randy Cunneyworth into sole possession of ninth place on the AHL’s wins list.
The Bears opened the scoring at 9:37 of the second period when Mike Vecchione curled to the right circle and snapped his 11th of the season past Malcom Subban at the far post. Pierrick Dubé and Joe Snively assisted on the goal.
Hershey made it 2-0 in the final minutes of the frame when Ivan Miroshnichenko carried the puck up the right wing into the offensive zone, then flipped the puck into the high slot, where Jimmy Huntington fired his eighth of the season past Subban. Hardy Häman Aktell earned a secondary assist on the strike.
Springfield got on the board at 12:36 of the third as Mathias Laferriere potted a rebound attempt that he stuffed past Shepard.
The Bears iced the game with a pair of empty-net goals, as Ethen Frank netted his 18th of the season at 18:11, with Snively and Shepard assisting; for Shepard, the helper marked his first career AHL assist. Dubé then followed up Frank’s tally with his 21st of the season at 19:15, with Miroshnichenko and Ness picking up assists.
Shots finished 34-22 in favor of the Thunderbirds. Shepard went 33-for-34 to secure his 16th victory of the season for Hershey – Shepard is now tied with Calgary’s Dustin Wolf for third in the AHL in wins; Subban took the loss for Springfield with an 18-for-20 effort. Hershey went 0-for-4 on the power play; the Thunderbirds went 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
