Bears fourth-line center Riley Sutter hit a new milestone in his AHL career with his first multi-goal game on Saturday night.
Sutter scored twice in the third period, including an empty netter, to help the Bears secure a 4-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch.
Sutter’s first goal came on a deflection 34 seconds into the final frame. Defenseman Vincent Iorio fired a shot from the blue line and Sutter redirected the puck past Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson. The goal extended the Bears lead to 3-1.
The 24-year-old centerman added his second in a much easier fashion with just 2:53 remaining in regulation. Sutter skated through the neutral zone and pushed past Syracuse defenseman Declan Carlile to fire into an empty net.
Sutter is currently having the highest-scoring season of his career. He has accumulated 8 goals and 18 points so far this season, besting his previous career-high of 12 points (5G,7A) set last season. Three of his goals this year have come within the past two games.
Bears head coach Todd Nelson specifically highlighted the play of Sutter and his linemates Matt Strome and Bogdan Trineyev postgame.
“I like the makeup of our fourth line,” Nelson said. “If you can call it a fourth line, Riley Sutter had two goals tonight.”
He also commented on the intensity during the matchup with Syracuse and compared it to what the upcoming AHL playoffs will look like.
“I told the guys, ‘Be ready,'” Nelson said. “Hit or be hit because it’s going to be a playoff-style game because they play gritty and they play hard. And to be honest I loved how the guys responded.”
“That was a playoff game tonight. That’s the way it felt.”
The Bears have already secured a spot in the 2024 AHL playoffs, the only team in the league to clinch so far. Hershey leads the AHL overall standings with 91 points, 11 more than the second-place team and last year’s Calder Cup Finals opponent, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The Bears are now looking to secure a bye week in the AHL playoffs.
“It wasn’t just a cliche saying that we’re here to win the cup,” Nelson said. “It’s a reality. It is with the Hershey Bears.”
Here were the lines from the win:
Tonight's projected lineup against the Crunch 📝
Alex Limoges has eight goals for the Bears in his last 13 games!
Catch today's broadcast:
🖥️ https://t.co/HaxQBmLCRZ
📻@FroggyValley, @foxsports1460am, @WOYK1350, @CapitalsRadio pic.twitter.com/5jDSC7happ— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 16, 2024
Below is the Bears’ press release:
BEARS BREAK OUT FOR 4-1 WIN OVER CRUNCH
Dubé, Huntington record goal, assist; Sutter scores twice for Hershey
(Hershey, PA – March 16, 2024) – Pierrick Dubé and Jimmy Huntington each contributed a goal and an assist, and Riley Sutter scored twice to lead the Hershey Bears (43-11-0-5) to a 4-1 win over the Syracuse Crunch (34-19-4-2) on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 10,559 at GIANT Center.
Hershey earned a split of its regular-season series with Syracuse with a 1-1-0-0 record; the Bears improved to 8-3-0-2 against North Division clubs.
Syracuse opened the scoring midway through the first period when Gabriel Fortier stuffed home a shot past Clay Stevenson at 12:45.
The Bears drew level early in the second period when Huntington won a face-off at the left circle in the offensive zone back to Dubé, who snuck his 25th of the season past Brendan Halverson at 4:38.
Hershey took its first lead of the night at 17:36 when Huntington knocked in a Dubé rebound on the power play for his 14th of the season. Garrett Roe earned a secondary assist on the goal.
Sutter deflected a Vincent Iorio shot from the point past Halverson 34 seconds into the third period to extend the lead to 3-1. The goal was Sutter’s seventh of the season and his second in as many nights; Matt Strome collected a helper as well.
Sutter capped the scoring with an empty-net tally from Bogdan Trineyev and Strome at 17:07.
Shots finished 20-16 in favor of the Bears. Stevenson went 15-for-16 in the victory for Hershey; Halverson took the victory for Syracuse with a 16-for-19 effort. The Bears went 1-for-3 on the power play; the Crunch went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
