Hershey Bears

Bears Tame Monsters, 6-1

Hershey gets outshot but wins in easy fashion.  Penalty kill a perfect 9/9 and power play stays hot going 3/9. Parker Milner with 30 saves in the victory.

If you wish to get live updates, follow Cory Lyons on Twitter at @CoryLyonsAHL.

 

The Hershey Bears (7-8-0-1) host the Cleveland Monsters (8-6-1-0) for the first time in the regular season since 2013.  Current Bears forward Mike Sgarbossa had the game winning goal in a 3-2 decision for the Monsters.  These two teams also met in the playoffs during the Calder Cup Finals back in 2016.  A powerful Cleveland squad went on to sweep Hershey in four games.

 

1st Period:

After killing off a tripping penalty early in the game by Colby Williams, Hershey went on the attack.  On their first shot of the night, the Bears had their first goal.  The puck was cycled around the board and given to Colby Williams who threw the puck on net.  On its way there, Mike Sgarbossa tipped the puck over Cleveland net minder, Brad Thiessen and in the net.   This gave Hershey the 1-0 lead.

After the first goal, the period was dominated by Cleveland.  At one point in the game, the shots were 11-2 in favor of the visiting team.  The Monsters answered back when Sonny Milano went around the net, shot the puck off the back of Parker Milner and into the net.  This tied the game 1-1 with just half a period left to play.

The Bears  turned the game around when Nathan Walker led a 2 on 1 down the ice.  The Cleveland defender would lay down to block the pass but Walker had other plans.  He shot the puck short side and over the blocker of Thiessen.  This brought some life back into the crowd and gave Hershey the 2-1 lead.

Shortly after, Hershey was given a power play as Garrett Pilon was boarded near the bench.  On the power play, the Bears showed why their special teams have been hot of late.  The passing was crisp and on the tape of each player.  Riley Barber scored on a back door play by a beautiful pass from Nathan Walker.  This gave Hershey the 3-1 lead going into intermission.

On a side note, this is Barbers 6th goal in the last 8 games.

1st Period Shots: HER – 8, CLE – 11

1st Period Scoring:

4:55 – HER: Mike Sgarbossa(7) ASST: Colby Williams(4), Juuso Ikonen(2)

10:55 – CLE: Sonny Milano(3) ASST: Adam Clendening(1), Tommy Cross(6)

17:14 – HER: Nathan Walker(2) ASST: Aaron Ness(5), Parker Milner(1)

18:53 – HER: Riley Barber(6) ASST: Nathan Walker(1), Garrett Pilon(8)(PP)

 

2nd Period:

Just over two minutes into the period, Liam O’Brien led a 3 on 1 down the ice. He found Jayson Megna in the slot who made no mistake.  Megna’s shot found the back of the net, giving the Bears a 4-1 lead early in the second.

 

Cleveland would pull Brad Thiessen after allowing 4 goals on 9 shots and Matiss Kivlenieks took his spot in the crease.

 

The rest of the period was filled with penalties taken by the Bears, even giving up a 5 on 3 opportunity.  Parker Milner would stand his ground, even making a great kick save while laying down on his stomach to keep the game at 4-1 Hershey.

2nd Period Shots: HER – 6, CLE 10

2nd Period Scoring:

2:23 – HER: Jayson Megna(3) ASST: Liam O’Brien(2), Derek Hulak(1)

 

3rd Period:

The period started as bad as you could think for Cleveland.  Just 9 seconds into the period, Adam Clendening started the parade to the box.  Hershey collected on one of the power plays as Liam O’Brien worked his way in front of the crease and Shane Gersich put home the loose puck.  This gave Hershey the 5-1 lead early in the third period.

 

The parade of penalties by Cleveland continued as frustration set in.  The Monsters took 9 penalties in the third period alone.  Shane Gersich cashed in one more time during a power play when Aaron Ness shot a puck from the point and Gersich tipped the puck in the net.  This was Shanes second goal of the period.

Hershey would finish the period strong in their own end, not giving Cleveland any thing to take to their hotels for tomorrow’s game.  The Hershey Bears go on to defeat the Cleveland Monsters 6-1.

 

3rd Period Shots: HER – 9, CLE – 10

Overall Shots: HER – 23, CLE – 31

 

3rd Period Scoring:

3:59 – HER: Shane Gersich(2) ASST: Liam O’Brien(3), Connor Hobbs(9)(PP)

16:08 – HER: Shane Gersich(3) ASST: Aaron Ness(6), Riley Barber(7)(PP)

 

3 Stars:

  1. HER – Shane Gersich – 2 Goals
  2. HER – Nathan Walker – 1 Goal (GWG), 1 Assist
  3. HER – Riley Barber – 1 Goal, 1 Assist

 

Box Score: https://theahl.com/stats/game-summary/1018563

 

Hershey returns to the ice tomorrow night as they host Cleveland one more time.  The game starts at 7:00 PM at the Giant Center.  We will return with more coverage of the game.

 

Photos by Lauren Gettel.  Follow her on Instagram at @laurengettel_photography and Facebook at /LaurenGettelPhotography

 

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