Before Saturday night’s road matchup against the Hartford Wolf Pack, Alex Limoges had never managed to score in any of his seven AHL shootout attempts. But when it counted in the third round against Hartford, his eighth shootout attempt would find the back of the net and win the game for the Hershey Bears.
The victory was the Bears’ first shootout win since December 22nd. While shootouts have typically been one of very few weak spots in the Bears’ game (winning just three out of eight this season), the three Bears’ shooters in Pierrick Dube, Joe Snively, and Limoges all found the net against Hartford.
Pierrick Dubé, Joe Snively, and Alex Limoges go 3/3 in the shootout🔥@TheHersheyBears | #HERvsHFD pic.twitter.com/aPbf6WzhxL
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) March 31, 2024
Limoges’ first shootout goal was just one of many milestones achieved during the game. The Bears team secured their best road win percentage in franchise history, Bears’ Head Coach Todd Nelson earned his 400th win as an AHL Head Coach, and veteran Mike Vecchione played in his 400th pro game.
Mr. 400🏆️
Congratulations to @TheHersheyBears' head coach Todd Nelson on 400 career wins behind the bench! pic.twitter.com/nTrMrz1fU3
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) March 31, 2024
The Bears presented the game puck to Nelson after the game.
“Thanks boys. It’s all conditioning I tell you, so get ready for a bag session next week,” Nelson joked.
The Bears’ only goal of the night came from Ethen Frank, his 25th of the season.
Frank scored on the Bears’ first shot of the night. Pierrick Dube stole the puck from Hartford forward Riley Nash and rushed up the ice with Frank and Mike Vecchione. Dube passed to Frank in the slot, where he fired it past Lindblom.
The Bears registered 26 shots on Lindblom during the game. Hunter Shepard started in net for the Bears, where he made 33 saves in the victory. He was awarded with Second star of the Game for his efforts.
The only real flaw of the game for the Bears was their power play. The Bears went 0/5 on the man advantage, with two of those power plays coming during the three-on-three overtime. While they squeaked by with the win in the shootout, they did miss a big opportunity to finish the game earlier during the 2:46 of power play time they had in overtime.
The Bears will hit the ice next at home on Tuesday April 2nd at 7pm against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Here were the lines from the win:
Tonight's projected lineup against the Wolf Pack 📝
Dmitry Osipov is back in the lineup – his last game against Hartford included a tilt with Matt Rempe!
Catch tonight's broadcast:
📺@fox43️.2 (Antenna TV)
🖥️ https://t.co/HaxQBmLCRZ
📻@FroggyValley, @foxsports1460am pic.twitter.com/jPwIjiAKlY— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 30, 2024
Below is the full Bears’ press release:
PICK UP 2-1 SHOOTOUT WIN OVER WOLF PACK
All three shooters score for Hershey in shootout
(Hartford, CT – March 30, 2024) – The Hershey Bears (47-12-0-5) continued their strong play on the road with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack (30-24-7-3) on Saturday night at XL Center.
The Bears earned two points to improve to 22-6-0-5 (.742) on the road this season, guaranteeing Hershey finishes its 72-game regular season with the best road points percentage in franchise history, surpassing the 2006-07 team (25-11-2-2, .675) with three road games remaining. Hershey’s win, combined with Providence’s 4-0 loss to Syracuse, has also reduced Hershey’s Magic Number for clinching the Atlantic Division title to one point.
Hershey head coach Todd Nelson earned his 400th career AHL head coaching win with the victory, while alternate captain Mike Vecchione skated in his 400th professional game.
The Bears took an early 1-0 lead in the first period thanks to Pierrick Dubé stealing the puck in the defensive zone and racing up the left side before finding Ethen Frank in the slot, who buried his 25th of the season past Olof Lindblom at 4:29.
At the opposite end of the ice, Hunter Shepard stopped everything Hartford threw at the Hershey net, making 15 saves.
The Wolf Pack leveled the score at 6:06 of the second period when Brennan Othmann converted with the man advantage. The goal ended Shepard’s personal shutout streak at 167:35 dating back to March 15 at Utica.
The game remained tied at 1-1 through the end of regulation and the five-minute overtime, sending Hershey to its eighth shootout of the season.
Hartford elected to shoot first, and after Brett Berard failed to score for the Wolf Pack, Dubé scored to put Hershey in front. Although Nic Petan drew Hartford level in the top of Round 2, Joe Snively put the Bears up 2-1 in the bottom of the round. Alex Belzile scored in the top of Round 3, but Alex Limoges struck to seal the victory for Hershey.
Shots finished 33-26 in favor of the Wolf Pack. Shepard earned his 24th win of the season with a 32-for-33 performance; Lindblom took the shootout loss for Hartford with a 24-for-25 effort. The Bears went 0-for-5 on the power play; the Wolf Pack went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
