Hunter Shepard tallied his third shutout Sunday against the Hartford Wolf Pack. Shepard made 26 saves to help lead the Bears to a 4-0 victory.
Per the Bears, the shutout is Hershey’s 10th of the season (Clay Stevenson 7, Shepard 3), which ties a franchise record for most shutouts in a season that was set in 2014-15 (Philipp Grubauer, 6; Pheonix Copley, 3; Justin Peters, 1).
Shepard made several sweet stops in the game, including a glove save on a Brett Berard backhand attempt in front of the net. The save at the time kept the score at 1-0.
The Minnesota native also stood tall on a shorthanded breakaway from Hartford forward Jake Leschyshyn with 1:15 remaining to hold onto the cleam sheet.
The Bears got goals from Ethen Frank, Alex Limoges, Riley Sutter, and Ryan Hofer in the game.
Frank kicked off the scoring 1:19 into the game with a power-play goal — his 22nd of the season.
After a great pass by Henrik Rybinski, Limoges added his 19th goal of the season late in the second period, his fourth tally in the last five games.
After a turnover by Wolf Pack goaltender Dylan Garand behind the net, Sutter scored his fourth goal in the last three games, pushing his new single-season career high in goals up to nine in the third.
In the waning minutes, Hofer, a rookie forward, fired home a turnover in the slot for his fourth of the season.
Shepard’s other two shutouts this season came December 17th against the Springfield Thunderbirds and February 3rd against the Bridgeport Islanders. The 28-year-old currently has a .921 save percentage, 6th best in the league.
The Bears are still the only team to clinch the AHL playoffs and rank first in the league with 93 points. The club will travel to Cleveland for their next matchup on Friday, March 22nd against the Cleveland Monsters.
Here were the lines from the victory:
Tonight's projected lineup against the Wolf Pack 📝
Aaron Ness is tied for the team lead with two points against Hartford!
Catch today's broadcast:
📺@fox43️.2 (Antenna TV)
🖥️ https://t.co/HaxQBmLCRZ
📻@FroggyValley, @foxsports1460am, @WOYK1350, @CapitalsRadio pic.twitter.com/uYGcXWGo5a— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 17, 2024
Below is the full Bears press release:
BEARS BLANK WOLF PACK 4-0
Shepard turns in 26-save shutout performance for Hershey
(Hershey, PA – March 17, 2024) – Four different goal-scorers found the net and a 26-save shutout performance from Hunter Shepard lifted the Hershey Bears (44-11-0-5) to a 4-0 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack (29-20-7-2) on Sunday evening in front of a crowd of 10,591 at GIANT Center.
The win enabled the Bears to match their win total from the 2022-23 regular season; Hershey has 12 games remaining in the 2023-24 campaign after tonight. Hershey improved to 2-1-0-0 against Hartford in the regular-season series. The shutout performance by Hunter Shepard was Hershey’s 10th overall shutout by the Bears this season (Clay Stevenson, 7; Shepard, 3), equalizing the franchise mark originally set in the 2014-15 season (Philipp Grubauer, 6; Pheonix Copley, 3; Justin Peters, 1).
Hershey struck early with the power play on just its second shot of the contest when Ethen Frank settled a loose puck at the left circle off a pass from Alex Limoges and buried his 22nd of the season at 1:19 of the first period. Matthew Phillips was credited with a secondary assist on the strike.
The Bears widened the lead to a pair of goals late in the second period when Henrik Rybinski led a breakout on a passing play with Hardy Häman Aktell and Limoges. As Rybinski made his way up the right side and put a shot on Garand, the rebound popped out to Limoges, who jammed in his 19th of the season – and third of the weekend – at 19:44.
Riley Sutter scored his fourth goal of the weekend and his ninth of the season at 11:18 of the third period when Garand attempted to play the puck on a dump-in behind the net and Sutter was able to stash it into an open cage. Lucas Johansen and Vincent Iorio earned assists on the goal.
Ryan Hofer capped the scoring with his fourth of the season at 14:13 when he slammed in a shot through the legs of Garand. Matt Strome and Sutter assisted.
Shepard preserved the clean sheet for the Bears late in regulation, denying Hartford’s Jake Leschyshyn on a shorthanded breakaway for the Wolf Pack’s final shot of the game.
Shots finished 27-26 in favor of the Bears. Shepard’s third shutout of the season was his 22nd win of the campaign season and his 50th career AHL win, all with the Chocolate and White; Garand took the loss for Hartford with a 23-for-27 effort. The Bears went 1-for-2 on the power play; the Wolf Pack went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
