The Hershey Bears defeated the Cleveland Monsters 3-2 on Saturday after getting clutch goals from Bogdan Trineyev and Grant Cruikshank.
Trineyev kicked off the third period with this eighth goal of the season, lighting the lamp 1:05 into the third period. Taking a no-look pass from Ivan Miroshnichenko along the sideboards, Trineyev was sprung on a semi-breakaway where he beat Cleveland Monsters goaltender Ivan Fedotov on his backhand.
As Trineyev skated around to celebrate, his roommate, Ilya Protas, greeted him in the goal hug by grabbing him on the shoulders and shaking him.
The Monsters tied the game 2-2 with 8:15 remaining as Luca Del Bel Belluz outwaited Bears goaltender Clay Stevenson and scored from the side of the net.
Cruikshank played hero for the Bears’ crowd as, during Cleveland’s next power play, he used his speed to cut to the middle of the ice and beat Fedotov for what would end up being the game-winning shorthanded goal.
“We knew that was going to be a big hill in the last five minutes, whatever it was there,” Cruikshank said per the Bears. “So I got the win on the draw, and then it felt like their centerman was sleeping, so we tried to kind of blow the zone, and luckily [Schueneman] heard me [calling for a pass] and lucky it went in from there.”
The marker was Cruikshank’s third career shorthanded goal and his fifth total tally of the season. He’s on pace to set AHL season highs in games, goals, and points.
