Bears End Regular Season with 5-3 Loss to Crunch
Published on April 24, 2022 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) -The Hershey Bears ended the 2021-22 regular season with a 5-3 loss to the Syracuse Crunch on Sunday evening at GIANT Center. The Bears record finishes at 34-32-6-4. Hershey will now open the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs on Friday, May 6 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
After being blanked in two straight home games, Hershey opened the scoring at 4:57 of the second period. Brett Leason struck on the power play for his 6th goal of the season, tapping in a rebound at the back post to make it 1-0.
The Crunch tied the game, 1-1, before the period ended, and in the third frame, the game opened up. The Crunch struck for two straight tallies as Charles Hudon scored on the power play at 1:52 to make it 2-1, and Remi Elie connected at 5:10 to put the Crunch up by two.
Hershey responded with a four-on-four, highlight-reel goal by Garrett Pilon at 8:41. The forward danced around the Syracuse defense, and out waited an outstretched Syracuse goaltender Hugo Alnefelt to make it 3-2.
Less than a minute later, Gemel Smith responded with the eventual game-winner, striking for an unassisted tally on the backhand at 9:05 to make it 4-2.
Hershey's Jake Massie made it a one-goal game, connecting for his 2nd tally of the season to cut the lead to 4-3 at 15:54. The defender's point shot sailed past Alnefelt's blocker. Hershey's Mike Sgarbossa collected his third assist of the game on the strike.
Elie ended Hershey's comeback bid with an empty net goal at 18:05 making it 5-3.
Shots finished 34-26 in favor of Hershey. The Bears went 1-for-6 on the power play while the Crunch were 1-for-3.
The Bears finish as the 5th place team in the Atlantic Division, and will square off with 4th seeded Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a best-of-three series to open the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs.
The complete schedule is as follows:
Game 1-Friday, May 6 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, 7:05 p.m.
Game 2-Sunday, May 8 vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, GIANT Center, 5 p.m.
*Game 3-Monday, May 9 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, 7:05 p.m.
*If Necessary. All times are Eastern.
Tickets for Hershey's home game will go on sale on Tuesday, April 26 at 10 a.m. Fans are encouraged to visit HersheyBears.com for further information.
American Hockey League Stories from April 24, 2022
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- Bears Announce Playoff Schedule for First Round Series vs. Penguins - Hershey Bears
- Crunch Defeat Bears, 5-3, Clinch Playoff Berth - Syracuse Crunch
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