Bears Win Again, Defeat Laval 4-2

Cory LyonsJanuary 26, 2019

128 3 minutes read

Mike Sgarbossa leads Hershey to a 4-2 victory over Laval Rocket. Hershey is 6-0-0-1 in their last seven games going into the All Star break.

Follow Cory Lyons on Twitter for live updates of Hershey Bear home games at @CoryLyonsAHL.

The Hershey Bears (20-20-0-3) welcome Laval Rocket (19-18-3-4) to the Giant Center. Hershey is 7-2-0-1 in their last ten games while Laval is 6-2-0-2. This is the last game before the AHL All-Star break that will be held in Springfield, MA. Vitek Vanecek is the lone Hershey Bear player while the voice of Hershey, Zack Fisch will call the game.

1st Period:

The game started off with both teams being chippy. Tyler Lewington took the first penalty with a boarding call. The penalty was killed off but then Laval returned the favor with their own boarding call from Phelix Martineau. Hershey went on to score on the power play with Nathan Walker putting home an easy goal, his 10th of the season. The play was created by a crisp cycle and a great cross crease pass from Mikhail Sgarbossa. This gave Hershey the 1-0 lead.

🎼Walk This Way🎼

Here's how @NathanWalks10 opened tonight's scoring in the 1st period #HBH #DefendTheDen pic.twitter.com/EcjWUFfDJZ

— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) January 27, 2019

More scuffles and penalties occurred during the first period, but Vitek Vanecek and Michael McNiven made all the saves they need to keep the game 1-0 going into the locker room.

1st Period Shots: HER – 8, LAV – 7

1st Period Scoring:

6:55 – HER: Nathan Walker(10) ASST: Mike Sgarbossa(17), Aaron Ness(26)(PP)

2nd Period:

It took half a period for someone to score. Hershey was rewarded a power play when Alex Belzile went off for tripping. While on the power play and entering the zone, four different Bears players touched the puck before Mike Sgarbossa put it in the net. This was Sgarbossa’s 11th goal of the season and this gave Hershey a 2-0 lead.

Psst.. @theAHL. In honor of it being the eve of the 2019 AHL Skills Competition, we thought you should get a little preview. #HBH #DefendTheDen #AHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/5DweLLIeWk

— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) January 27, 2019

Hershey went on the penalty kill directly after the goal but that did not stop Hershey from scoring. Mike Sgarbossa lost the draw in Laval’s zone but went on the forecheck. Sgarbossa controlled the puck in the corner and found Beck Malenstyn streaking into the slot. Malenstyn picked the corner and scored his 4th goal of the season. The Bears held a 3-0 lead.

Laval did answer back before the period was over. To the right of Vitek Vanecek, Daniel Audette won the face off. The puck went to the point and David Schlemko scored his first goal of the season, beating Vanecek five hole. The period was settled with a 3-1 Hershey lead.

2nd Period Shots: HER – 17, LAV – 9

2nd Period Scoring:

10:06 – HER: Mike Sgarbossa(20) ASST: Jayson Megna(11), Ryan Sproul(11)(PP)

10:54 – HER: Beck Malenstyn(4) ASST: Mike Sgarbossa(18)(SH)

14:49 – LV: David Schlemko(1) ASST: Daniel Audette(19), Alexandre Grenier(6)

3rd Period:

Laval opened up the period strong. Alex Kile finished a beautiful play that was created by Phelix Martineau and Xavier Ouellet. The play broke down the defense of Hershey and left Vitek Vanecek out to dry. Video below explains it all:

Le premier but d'Alex Kile dans l'uniforme du Rocket!

Alex Kile's first goal with the Rocket! #GoRocket pic.twitter.com/vcCPjL7oLL

— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) January 27, 2019

Hershey learned from their mistake early in the period and play a great trap game in the neutral zone. With the game winding down, Laval pulled their goalie and Riley Barber added to his goal total. This was Barber’s 18th goal of the season, sealing the victory for Hershey 4-2.