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AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Close Out 2023 With 4-0 Win Over Phantoms

December 30, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Allentown, PA) - A fluky goal, a pair of tallies from Matt Strome, and a 37-save night from Clay Stevenson gave the Hershey Bears (27-6-0-0) a 4-0 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (13-12-4-1) on Saturday night at PPL Center. Hershey closed out the 2023 portion of the season calendar with its eighth consecutive win and sits atop the American Hockey League standings, and is now 4-1-0-0 against Lehigh Valley in head-to-head action.

Stevenson's shutout was his league-leading fifth of the season, which tied a Bears single-season rookie record, previously shared between Ron Hextall (1985-86) and Vitek Vanecek (2016-17). All three of Stevenson's wins against Lehigh Valley have come via shutout; he has a 3-1-0 record against the Phantoms with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .964 save percentage.

In addition to their 27 wins so far, the Bears' 54 points in the standings is also the most by the club through its first 33 games of any season in its 86-year history of play in the AHL.

After playing through a 0-0 first period, the Bears struck first on a bizarre play in the middle frame when Lucas Johansen's breakout pass from the defensive zone was ramped into the air off a Lehigh Valley skater in neutral ice and arched into the air before dropping through the legs of Cal Petersen and into the net at 3:44 for Johansen's second of the season. Logan Day earned the lone assist on the goal.

Strome then nabbed his first of the season early in the third period when Johansen moved the puck from the left point across to Vincent Iorio, who threw the puck off the end boards at the right side of the cage, where Strome lifted the puck and then batted it in underneath the crossbar at 3:10.

Strome bagged his second of the evening at 7:58 from Bogdan Trineyev and Riley Sutter. For Strome it was his second career two-goal game in the AHL, while Sutter earned his 13th point of the season, establishing a new personal single-season high.

Jake Massie capped the scoring with his first of the season at 11:26 when he forced a turnover against Ronnie Attard at the Hershey blue line and raced up ice with the puck before beating Petersen.

Shots finished 37-17 in favor of the Phantoms. Stevenson stopped all 37 shots - a new AHL career-high for the netminder - to earn his 12th victory of the season for the Bears; Petersen took the loss for Lehigh Valley with a 13-for-17 effort. Hershey went 0-for-2 on the power play; the Phantoms went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they return home to GIANT Center to face the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. for Berks Dollar Dog Night. Purchase tickets for the game.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2023


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