Bears Claim North Division Title, Win Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy
Published on May 15, 2021 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) - Three goals in a span of 2:41 led the Hershey Bears to a 3-2 victory over the Binghamton Devils on Saturday afternoon at GIANT Center. With the victory, the Bears claimed the North Division, winning the F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy. With Hershey's win, and Laval's loss to Toronto, the Bears also won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the league's regular-season champion. This marks the first time the Bears have won a division title since 2015-16, and the first time Hershey has won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy since 2009-10.
Binghamton scored first on Saturday, striking at 5:27 of the initial stanza. Tyce Thompson, the son of former Bears captain Brent Thompson, tallied on a two-on-one, accepting a pass from A.J. Greer and beating Hershey netminder Zach Fucale with a wrister from the right wing to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
After a big scrum at 9:20 of the second period, Hershey used the momentum gained from the physical play to strike three times in rapid succession. Off a faceoff at 12:56, Paul LaDue scored for the Bears, snapping a seeing-eye wrist shot from the center point to make it 1-1. Connor McMichael had the lone assist on the goal.
At 14:18, Hershey took the lead on Aliaksei Protas' second goal of the season. Shane Gersich cleared the puck out of his own zone, and Protas raced around the Binghamton defenders after the puck hopped to neutral ice. The rookie skated in on a breakaway, and slid the puck through the five-hole of Devils goaltender Jeremy Brodeur to make it 2-1 Hershey.
Just moments later at 15:37, Brett Leason found a wide-open McMichael on the backdoor, and the rookie tapped home his 13th goal of the season to make it 3-1 Hershey. The goal was the eventual game-winner, giving McMichael an AHL-leading eight deciding goals. Mason Morelli and Leason assisted on the tally.
Mason Jobst cut Hershey's lead to just one with a power play goal at 29 seconds of the third period, but Fucale stopped nine shots in the frame to earn the win for the Bears. Hershey's record is now 23-7-2-0. The Bears have won nine straight games at GIANT Center.
Hershey took a season-high 54 minutes in penalties on Saturday. Binghamton was 1-for-5 on the man-advantage while Hershey was 0-for-3. The Bears finished the regular season 11-1-0-0 versus the Devils.
The Chocolate and White close the 2020-21 season tomorrow versus the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at GIANT Center at 3 p.m.
American Hockey League Stories from May 15, 2021
- Gulls Close Regular Season with OT Win - San Diego Gulls
- Colorado Finishes Regular Season with 3-2 Overtime Loss to San Diego - Colorado Eagles
- AHL Announces Pacific Division Playoff Matchups - San Jose Barracuda
- Barber's 20th Goal Gives Griffins Season-Ending 4-1 Win - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Amerks Drop Season Series Finale to Crunch - Rochester Americans
- Moose Drop Penultimate Game - Manitoba Moose
- Intense Rivalry Clash Opens Last Weekend of the Season - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Stars Finish Season with 3-2 Win over Wild - Texas Stars
- Wolves Wrap 2021 Season with Win - Chicago Wolves
- Björkqvist Buries in OT for Penguins 2-1 Win - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Crunch Top Amerks, 5-3, in Season Finale - Syracuse Crunch
- Iowa Falls 3-2 to Texas in Season Finale - Iowa Wild
- Monsters Late Fight Not Enough in 4-1 Loss to Griffins - Cleveland Monsters
- San Diego Gulls Semifinal Playoff Series Schedule Announced - San Diego Gulls
- Condors Take Down Silver Knights, 3-2 - Henderson Silver Knights
- Condors Clinch Second; to Host Semifinal Series against San Diego - Bakersfield Condors
- Bears Claim North Division Title, Win Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy - Hershey Bears
- 32 Admiral Alums to Compete for Stanley Cup - Milwaukee Admirals
- Brodeur Stops 32 in 3-2 Loss to Bears - Binghamton Devils
- Roadrunners Open Playoffs Tuesday at 1 p.m. - Tucson Roadrunners
- Game Day Build-Up: Senators vs. Moose, May 15th - Belleville Senators
- Game Preview: Devils at Bears, 1 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Roadrunners Force Overtime, Fall In Last Minute To Ontario Reign - Tucson Roadrunners
- Reign earn 3-2 overtime win over the Tucson Roadrunners - Ontario Reign
- Gulls Have Chance to Clinch Second in Finale - San Diego Gulls
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
