Bears Enter All-Star Break with 4-2 Win over Laval
January 26, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears extend their point streak to seven games (6-0-0-1) with a 4-2 win over the Laval Rocket on Saturday night at Giant Center. Hershey's special teams came alive with two power play goals and a shorthanded tally in the victory.
Nathan Walker opened the scoring for the Bears only seconds into their first power play opportunity of the night. Phelix Martineau was whistled for boarding at 6:34, and the Chocolate and White immediately went to work in the offensive zone after winning the ensuing face-off. Walker buried a backdoor pass from Mike Sgarbossa into an open cage to start the scoring at 6:56. Shots after 20 minutes were 8-7 Hershey with a 1-0 lead in tact.
The Bears extended their lead to 3-0 in the second period with continued special teams execution. Sgarbossa finished a highlight-reel passing play at the 10:06 mark. Walker started a tic-tac-toe sequence with a between the legs pass to Ryan Sproul, who found Jayson Megna on the right wing, and Sgarbossa on the backdoor for the eventual tap in. The tally marked Sgarbossa's 20th of the season, and is the first Bears player this season to reach the 20-goal plateau.
Only 48 seconds later, Beck Malenstyn scored the eventual game-winner in shorthanded fashion. After Tobias Geisser was whistled for holding at 10:33, Malenstyn buried a quick shot past Laval goaltender Michael McNiven for his team's third shorthanded goal the season.
Laval began their comeback attempt at 14:49 after winning an offensive zone face-off. David Schlemko scored his first goal of the season after snapping a shot from the left point through Vitek Vanecek's five-hole. Shots after 40 minutes were 25-16 Hershey with a 3-1 advantage in hand.
Into the third period, the Rocket trimmed their deficit down to one only 2:07 in. Alex Kile was left unmarked in the slot, and dangled around Vanecek to finish his second goal of the season. Vanecek continued to make key stops down the stretch, and Riley Barber hit the empty net for the Chocolate and White at 19:21 to round out a 4-2 final. Shots on goal finished 31-21 Hershey. The Bears went a stellar 2-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill in the winning effort.
Hershey improved above the .500 mark for the first time this season, and now stand at 21-20-0-3. The Chocolate and White, along with the entire American Hockey League, enter the All-Star Break after Saturday night's docket of games. Vanecek will be the Bears lone representative at the 2019 Lexus AHL All-Star Classic from January 27-28.
The Bears return to the ice on Feb. 2 with a 7 p.m. duel with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. It's AAA License Plate Frame Night at Giant Center. The first 5,000 fans will receive a license plate frame, courtesy of AAA. Ticket information is available online at HersheyBears.com.
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