8 Wins In A Row! Bears Defeat Thunderbirds 3-2
Matt Moulson shines with 2 goals and 1 assist in the third period, while Pheonix Copley shuts the door late in the game for Hershey to win their 8th straight game and remain undefeated in the month of December!
The Hershey Bears (15-9-2-3) welcome the Springfield Thunderbirds (16-14-2-0) for the second time in as many nights. Saturday night, Hershey defeated Springfield in overtime with the score of 2-1. Matt Moulson scored off of Martin Fhehrvary’s shot with a deflection and Axel Jonsson-Ajallby scored in overtime.
This past week, Matt Moulson was selected by the AHL to captain one of the All-Star teams early next year in Ontario
.@TheHersheyBears forward Matt Moulson and @griffinshockey forward Matthew Ford have been selected as the playing captains for the 2020 #AHLAllStar Classic.
Details: https://t.co/kTYw5hE4OF pic.twitter.com/bsyRKtEECR
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) December 18, 2019
1st Period:
Both teams ended up with one power play which resulted to no goals. Nothing really excited happened in the first period as both teams looked flat after playing just last night.
1st Period Shots: HER – 10, SPR – 8
1st Period Scoring:
None
2nd Period:
About half way through the second period, Springfield’s captain Paul Thompson supplied the first goal of the game. Jonathan Ang fed the puck into the crease, where Thompson was waiting. Pheonix Copley made the first save but eventually, the puck went through his legs and into the net.
First goal of the game goes to @ThunderbirdsAHL captain Paul Thompson. 1-0 Springfield with 8:52 left in the second period.#HBH #HersheyBears #DefendTheDen #SPRvsHER @CapsOutsider pic.twitter.com/u1l2Xzx3tc
— Cory Lyons (@CoryLyonsAHL) December 22, 2019
Minutes later, the Thunderbirds struck again. This time Rob O’Gara threw the puck on net from the point and Daniel Audette tipped the puck just enough to beat Copley on his blocker side. This gave the Thunderbirds a 2-0 lead.
Just like that, @ThunderbirdsAHL are up 2-0. This time Daniel Audette tips the shot from Rob O'Gara to beat Copley. #HBH #HersheyBears #DefendTheDen #SPRvsHER @CapsOutsider pic.twitter.com/Ph4LVOZAAe
— Cory Lyons (@CoryLyonsAHL) December 22, 2019
2nd Period Shots: HER – 12, SPR – 12
2nd Period Scoring:
9:01 – SPR – Goal: Paul Thompson (8), Assist(s): Jonathan Ang (7), Jowl Lowry (13)
12:59 – SPR – Goal: Daniel Audette (7), Assist(s): Rob O’Gara (1) Ehtan Prow (11)
3rd Period:
Early in the third period, the Bears were looking for a line change. Matt Moulson crossed the blue line and shot the puck that somehow found a way past Philippe Desrosiers. Maybe it caught him off guard but either way, the Bears cut their deficit to one. Springfield now led 2-1.
BEARS GOAL!!! All Star captain @MMoulson gets a long range shot to go in and cuts the lead to 2-1 with 17:09 left in the third period.#HBH #HersheyBears #DefendTheDen #SPRvsHER @CapsOutsider pic.twitter.com/ddv1JSjNqM
— Cory Lyons (@CoryLyonsAHL) December 22, 2019
A few minutes later, Matt Moulson does it again. Philippe Maillet does the dirty work in the corner and finds Moulson alone in the slot. Moulson made no mistake, beating Desrosiers blocker side, making it a tied game at 2-2.
BEARS POWER PLAY GOAL!!! @MMoulson strikes for the second time and ties the game at 2! 10:45 left in the third period.#HBH #HersheyBears #DefendTheDen #SPRvsHER @CapsOutsider pic.twitter.com/mIxsoz8mWF
— Cory Lyons (@CoryLyonsAHL) December 22, 2019
Something was in the water after the second period because Matt Moulson had a little bit more magic left in the stick. He found Philippe Maillet with a beautiful pass that led to a breakaway. Maillet followed the advice of Moulson and shot blocker side, beating Desrosiers for the third time in that area. Hershey now led 3-2 with less than half a period to play.
RIGHT BACK AT YOU! Phil Maillet with the goal to take the lead, on a beautiful pass from guess who? Matt Moulson. Bears lead 3-2 in the third. #HBH pic.twitter.com/TK2omotysf
— Chocolate Hockey (@ChocHockey) December 22, 2019
Things started to get a little pushy near the end of the period around Pheonix Copley. He is known to get into a few scrums, with his two career fights as a goalie.
Things are getting a little testy late in the third period. Copley is having none of it. #HBH #HersheyBears #DefendTheDen #SPRvsHER @CapsOutsider pic.twitter.com/taU0vwkol8
— Cory Lyons (@CoryLyonsAHL) December 22, 2019
The Hershey Bears defeat the Springfield Thunderbirds 3-2!
3rd Period Shots: HER – 9, SPR – 10
Overall Shots: HER – 31, SPR – 30
3rd Period Scoring:
1:39 – HER – Goal: Matt Moulson (10), Assist(s): Philippe Maillet (6), Bobby Nardella (6)
7:45 – HER – Goal: Matt Moulson (11), Assist(s): Philippe Maillet (7), Mike Sgarbossa (16) PP
10:43 – HER – Goal: Philippe Maillet (5), Assist(s): Matt Moulson (9), Alex Alexeyev (12)
The final call for Zack Fisch, voice of The Hershey Bears:
BEARS WIN!
Final Score: @TheHersheyBears – 3@ThunderbirdsAHL – 2
Three Stars:
1.) HER – Matt Moulson – 2 G, 1 A
2.) HER – Philippe Maillett – GWG
3.) HER – Bobby Nardella – 1 A"What a Christmas gift from The Hershey Bears to their fans." ~ @zackfisch @CapsOutsider #HBH pic.twitter.com/kGL15KNT8R
— Cory Lyons (@CoryLyonsAHL) December 22, 2019
Three Stars:
- HER – Matt Moulson – 2 goals, 1 assist
- HER – Philippe Maillet – 1 goal, 2 assists
- HER – Bobby Nardella – 1 assist
Official Box Score: https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1020081
All photos in this post are courtesy of Caroline O’Connor/Great Save Productions/Hershey Bears.