Ilya Protas lit the lamp on Wednesday for the first time since his seven-game goal streak ended on November 29.
Protas scored a power-play goal in the Hershey Bears’ 3-1 loss to the Providence Bruins on Wednesday, notching their only tally of the night in a late comeback attempt.
The Belarusian centerman found paydirt 8:35 into the third period after a heads-up play by the team’s equipment staff. Ivan Miroshnichenko broke his stick clean in half after a shot attempt, but quickly received a new twig at the bench. As the Russian forward arrived back in the zone, he won a puck battle at the point as the Bruins desperately tried to clear and found Protas wide open in the right circle.
Protas then skated the puck hard to the net, where he beat Bruins goaltender Michael DiPietro five-hole.
The goal marked Protas’s team-leading 11th goal of the season and 21st point of the season. Among AHL rookies league-wide, Little Pro sits tied for third in goals and fourth in points.
Miroshnichenko received the primary assist on the play, his seventh point (3g, 4a) in 10 games this season. Andrew Cristall got the secondary assist, extending his assist streak to five games (7a). Cristall has 18 points (3g, 15a) in 22 games.
“We didn’t quit – that’s the positive,” Bears coach Derek King said postgame. ” I thought in the third period, if we play like that, game-in, game-out, for the most part we’re going to win some hockey games.”
Providence would receive goals from Brett Harrison, Riley Tufte, and Fabian Lysell in the victory. Clay Stevenson stopped 31 of 34 shots while DiPietro made 37 saves, earning 1st Star of the Night honors.
