The Hershey Bears faced off against the Springfield Thunderbirds and former player, Jakub Vrana, for a final time this season on Saturday. While Vrana himself did not score, his team put up six goals in the matchup to defeat the Bears 6-3. The loss broke Hershey’s previous clean sweep of Springfield this season, ending the season series 3-1.
Goal-scorers for the Bears include Garrett Roe, Chase Priskie, and Alex Limoges. Priskie scored his goal during the penalty kill for his first shorthanded goal of the season and third of his career. Limoges is currently on a hot streak with goals in four straight games.
Like in most of their games, the Bears got on the board first. Jimmy Huntington skated the puck in towards the net and fired it, and Roe buried the rebound in front past goaltender Malcolm Subban. The goal is Roe’s sixth of the season.
Springfield scored a goal of their own with 2:12 left in the first. The two teams went into the second period tied 1-1.
The Thunderbirds lit up during the second period, scoring three straight goals against Hershey and giving themselves a 4-1 lead.
On a Thunderbirds power play where it looked like they might get a fourth goal, Priskie and his linemates found one for Hershey instead. After a Hershey dump into their offensive zone, Huntington found the puck amass a sea of Thunderbirds in a puck battle along the wall. He skated around the net and passed to Priskie at the left circle, who fired the puck into the net.
The Bears went into the third period with a two goal defecit, but Springfield scored again with 11:58 left in the period to put the Bears down three goals once again.
The Bears reduced the deficit back to two with a power play goal from Limoges. Joe Snively passed to Mike Vecchione at the right circle, where he shot a wrister towards the net. Limoges deflected the puck in front and passed Subban into the net.
Hershey would pull goaltender Clay Stevenson for the extra man with 2:46 left in the matchup. Springfield’ Dylan Coghlan scored an empty-netter for their final goal of the night, handing Hershey a 6-3 loss.
Even with the defeat, the Bears’ 37 wins in 48 games so far keep them on pace to break the AHL record of most games won in in the 72-game season (51). To achieve this insane accomplishment, the Bears need to win 14 of their remaining 24 games to tie and 15 to break the record.
The Bears will continue their road trip next Saturday February 17th in Canada against the Toronto Marlies.
Here were the lines:
Tonight's projected lineup against the T-Birds📝
Pierrick Dubé leads Hershey with four points 🆚 Springfield!
Catch tonight's broadcast:
📺 Antenna TV (@fox43.2)
🖥️ https://t.co/HaxQBmLCRZ (🆓)
📻@FroggyValley, @foxsports1460am, @WOYK1350, @CapitalsRadio (joined in progress) pic.twitter.com/yjj3DOfcSm— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) February 10, 2024
A regular noticeably absent from tonight’s lineup was Ethen Frank. The AHL All-Star suffered a lower-body injury against Providence on Friday and his status is currently unknown. Bogdan Trineyev also returned to the lineup after his one game suspension for a high-sticking penalty.
Below is the full Bears’ press release:
BEARS DOUBLED UP IN 6-3 LOSS TO T-BIRDS
Loss ends 15-game point streak against Springfield franchise
(Springfield, MA – Feb. 10, 2024) – The Hershey Bears (37-9-0-2) split their weekend in New England after suffering a 6-3 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds (22-19-3-2) on Saturday night at MassMutual Center; Hershey’s six goals allowed represented the most the Bears have surrendered in a game this season.
The Bears wrapped up their regular-season series with the Thunderbirds with a record of 3-1-0-0 in head-to-head play; the loss ended a nine-game winning streak for Hershey against Springfield, and concluded a 15-game point streak against the club (13-0-2-0). Hershey remains in first place in the Atlantic Division and the American Hockey League standings by 13 points.
Hershey opened the scoring late in the first period as Chase Priskie found Jimmy Huntington, and the forward’s backhand shot from the slot rebounded off the leg pad of Malcom Subban, allowing Garrett Roe to stash home his sixth of the season at 14:02.
Springfield leveled the score at 1-1 when a point shot from Adam Gaudette struck Zachary Bolduc at the left of Clay Stevenson and was deflected into the net at 17:48.
The Thunderbirds opened their lead significantly in the second, with goals by Keean Washkurak (2:55), Adam Gaudette (4:30), and Hugh McGing (15:24) to create a three-goal edge for the hosts.
Hershey got one back off a shorthanded marker by Jake Massie, who stepped into a pass from Huntington to drive home his second goal of the season past Subban at 17:42 from the left circle.
The Thunderbirds restored its three-goal advantage midway through the final frame with a goal from Will Bitten at 10:54.
Alex Limoges answered with a power-play goal at 13:30 when he deflected Mike Vecchione’s shot past Subban for his 13th goal of the season; the tally marked Limoges’ fourth straight game with a goal (4g), and extended his point streak to six games (4g, 4a); Joe Snively earned a secondary assist on the goal.
Dylan Coghlan capped the scoring with an empty-net goal for Springfield at 19:11.
Shots finished 37-24 in favor of the Bears; Hershey’s 37 shots on goal matched a season-high. Stevenson went 18-for-23 in the loss for Hershey; Subban earned the victory for Springfield with a 34-for-37 effort. The Bears went 1-for-4 on the power play; the Thunderbirds went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
