Bears Dealt 4-2 Loss to Senators
February 26, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears (32-13-5-2) built a 1-0 lead in the first period, but a two-goal performance by opposing forward Egor Sokolov led to a 4-2 defeat to the Belleville Senators (22-26-4-1) in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,597 on Sunday afternoon at GIANT Center. Hershey split its regular season series with Belleville with a 1-1-0-0 record.
The Bears opened the scoring early in the first period when Beck Malenstyn deflected Vincent Iorio's shot from the right point past Kevin Mandolese at 3:19 for his fifth of the season. Shane Gersich earned a secondary assist.
Sokolov equalized for the Senators at 7:04 when his shot from the right flank pinballed off the glass behind the Hershey net and allowed Sokolov to stash his own rebound past Hunter Shepard.
Jake Lucchini then put Belleville ahead in the second period with a shorthanded goal as he deked around Connor McMichael and slid the puck through the legs of Shepard at 14:35 to make it 2-1.
Cole Reinhardt scored a power-play goal at 17:01 of the third period to extend Belleville's lead to a pair of goals, but the Bears pulled Shepard for an extra skater and converted at 18:04, when Mike Vecchione buried a Joe Snively rebound past Mandolese for his 17th of the season. Mason Morelli gained the secondary helper on Vecchione's goal.
Hershey suffered a setback when a penalty assessed 10 seconds later put them down a man. In an attempt to close the gap the Bears once again pulled Shepard, but this time Sokolov put the game away with an empty-net tally at 19:20.
Shots finished even at 27-27. Shepard went 23-for-26 for Hershey in the loss; Mandolese was 25-for-27 for Belleville. The Bears were 0-for-5 on the power play; the Senators finished 2-for-7 with the man advantage.
Hershey continues the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, when the Chocolate and White host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday, March 1 at 7 p.m. for Berks Dollar Dog Night, featuring Berks dollar dogs and $6 beers available at the Boulevard, Hot Shots, and Hat Trick concession stands. The game will also feature the GIANT Food Drive; all fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate to the Central PA Food Bank. For each item donated, fans will be entered to win a variety of Hershey Bears prizes and gift cards to GIANT (up to 10 entries per person). Fans can also donate directly to the Central PA Food Bank by making a financial donation here. Purchase tickets for the game.
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