Ethen Frank became the first player in the American Hockey League to hit 20 goals this season after scoring a highlight-reel tally against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night.
With the score tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, the game went to overtime, where the speedy Frank was the difference maker. Sprung on a long breakaway early in overtime, the Hershey Bears forward faked a shot before going to his backhand and beating Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist. The tally was his first career OTGWG.
Frank’s goal was a big one in another way, too; the Bears had lost four of their last five games coming into the night.
“We knew that they played [Friday] night [against Lehigh Valley], so they were probably a little more into the game style than we were and we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Frank said afterward per the Bears. “It always is with those guys and Lehigh Valley, especially playing them as many times as we do. And so it was nice to get a win at home, especially with the way we’ve been playing.”
Frank is the first Bears player to record three consecutive 20-plus goal seasons since Andrew Gordon did so from 2008-09 through 2010-11 (the Bears also won consecutive Calder Cups during that time). Frank’s goal marked his fifth game-winning goal of the season, tying him for the league lead with Bakersfield’s Matvey Petrov.
With 20 goals in his first 30 games of the season, Frank is on pace to score a career-high 41 goals. He previously scored 29 goals in 2023-24 and 30 in his rookie AHL campaign in 2022-23.
Frank’s high-octane year in Hershey comes after a dominant showing in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs. The 26-year-old winger signed a two-year extension with the Capitals over the summer and was given an opportunity in NHL training camp to make the Opening Night roster. However, he ultimately struggled in the preseason games he suited up in.
“I think his confidence is at an all-time high right now,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson said. “We all know he can skate well and he has a great shot, but right now he’s hitting his mark, his shot’s gotten more accurate. He plays on the power play and teams are starting to sit on him and attempt to take away his chances. But he still finds a way to get free and he gets the puck on net.
“I think he has the thirst to be in the conversation, to get called up. I think when you look at his training camp with Washington, it probably didn’t go as well as he wanted it to. I think that he’s on a bit of a redemption tour down here, to have Washington keep him in the conversation if there has to be a call-up.”
Hershey plays again on Sunday and will have a familiar face rejoin the team. Hendrix Lapierre was sent down earlier in the day after Lars Eller returned from illness. Frank and Lapierre were part of the most lethal line in last year’s playoffs.
