HERSHEY, PA — The Hershey Bears are living dangerously in the Eastern Conference Finals, but will still head to Cleveland with a 2-0 series lead.
Two nights after giving up two goals in the final two minutes of Game 1 and being bailed out by Mike Vecchione in sudden death, the Bears surrendered a game-tying goal to the Cleveland Monsters with 1:33 remaining in regulation in Game 2, forcing overtime again.
There, highly-skilled forward Pierrick Dubé played the role of hero, giving Hershey a thrilling 3-2 victory.
“The goal was all him,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said.
After working a give-and-go with Jimmy Huntington, Dubé peeled down the left wing on a semi-breakaway and beat Monsters goaltender Jet Greaves to the glove side with a snipe to the far corner of the net.
Dubé unleashed a huge ROAR along the sideboards. The 10,562 fans at Giant Center erupted as Bears players mobbed Dubé at the same spot on the ice where they celebrated their Game 1 victory.
The goal marked the first time Hershey had won back-to-back playoff games in overtime since the Bears defeated the Providence Bruins in Games 2 and 3 of the 2017 Atlantic Division Finals.
“It feels amazing, honestly,” Dubé said.
The celebration on the ice was so epic that Dubé’s visor completely fogged up.
In the media room after the game, Dubé said the moment reminded him of his QMJHL championship-winning tally in 2022 as a member of the Shawinigan Cataractes. That goal came in overtime, too.
“It was kinda like the same goal,” Dubé said. “This one feels good.”
What impressed Nelson most about the tally was how a small hustle play in the defensive zone turned into a big play that ultimately decided the game.
“[Dubé] was on the back check, wins a puck battle in our end, starts the rush,” Nelson said. “Practice pays off, there’s a drill that we do that is identical to that. We have close support, kicked it out wide to Jimmy, slipped in behind the defensemen, and it was just a great play off the rush.”
“I think it starts everything a good back check, defensively good play, and then just try to skate as much as I can,” Dubé said. “You know it’s overtime so we’re all tired.”
After finishing second on the team with 28 goals in the regular season, Dubé has struggled to have the same impact in the postseason while skating on Hershey’s second line with Jimmy Huntington and Alex Limoges. Coming into the night, Dubé had only one goal and one assist in his first eight games of the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit scoring goals,” Dubé said. “It was just not going in. Last game, Jimmy and Limo, Veccs was on the ice, but our line scored the OT goal. Tonight we scored the OT goal again. I think even if we didn’t produce as much as we want to, to score these two goals right now helps us a lot for confidence and for team too.”
“He’s trying to do the right things out there but they weren’t clicking in his direction and he was getting a bit frustrated so I think that’s huge,” Nelson added. “Hopefully, that kinda gets him going with the point production because he hasn’t played bad. The goals just haven’t come his way or his points.”
Ethen Frank, who went through a similar dry spell in last year’s playoffs, expressed how important Dubé getting on the board will be for the young winger’s confidence moving forward.
“It was really, really great for us because we know that’s a big weight off of his shoulders, and now he can play a little more relaxed and loose,” Frank said.
Despite his recent scuffles, Dubé’s attitude has never soured. His inability to break through only gave him more motivation to capture a big moment. As he spoke to the media, the French winger sported a tattoo on his right bicep that read No Risk. No Story.
“At the end of the day, I’d rather take risks and fall, fail, or something so I can be better the next time,” Dubé said. “I did it last summer. It’s just something that I have in my head and in my mindset with everything in life.
“If I don’t take any risk in life, you don’t write any stories.”
