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AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Sweep Weekend with 2-1 Win over Bruins

October 27, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Providence, RI) - The Hershey Bears (6-1-1-0) completed a 3-0-0-0 weekend sweep of its road trip with a 2-1 win over the Providence Bruins (2-4-0-0) on Sunday afternoon at Amica Mutual Pavilion, as the club continued its 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health.

The victory marked the third straight game that Hershey had battled back after allowing the first goal of the game to its opponent. The contest was Hershey's second and final visit of the regular season to Providence after also earning a 2-1 victory on Friday. The Bears are currently 5-0-0-0 on Amica Mutual Pavilion ice dating back to the 2023-24 season, the best road stretch against the Bruins in club history dating back to the latter's inaugural season in 1992-93.

With the win, Hershey's point streak increased to six games (5-0-1-0), and the club improved to 4-0-0-0 on the road this season.

NOTABLES:

Vinni Lettieri gave Providence a 1-0 lead off a face-off play at 5:12 of the first period that was reviewed but ultimately upheld.

Ivan Miroshnichenko tied the game with his sixth of the season at 14:28 of the second period.

Ethen Frank scored the game-winning goal just 20 seconds into the final frame for his team-leading seventh tally of the season. Frank's goal marked his 17th career game-winner for the Chocolate and White, moving him into a tie with Les Duff and Rob Shearer for 24th on the franchise list.

Ethan Bear assisted on Frank's goal, giving him a three-game assist streak (3a).

Goaltender Hunter Shepard improved to 5-0-0 this season with the win, and is tied for the league lead in wins by a goaltender.

Rookie forward Zac Funk also made his pro debut.

Todd Nelson earned his 103rd win as head coach of the Bears to tie Bruce Boudreau for 12th in franchise history.

SHOTS: HER 23, PRO 25

GOALTENDING: HER - Hunter Shepard, 24-for-25; PRO - Brandon Bussi, 21-for-23

POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-5; PRO - 0-for-3

THEY SAID IT:

"Our guys came out and played hard right from the drop of the puck and we were physical, and I thought the guys were trying to do the right things out there. Anytime you play a three-in-three in two and a half days, it's tough mentally and physically, but it was a really gutsy effort from everybody." - Todd Nelson on the team rallying after trailing for the second consecutive evening.

"The goals that they're scoring is a byproduct of their hard work - you look at both Miro and Franky, they're working hard in the corners, being physical, and it's paying dividends for them." - Nelson on Ivan Miroshnichenko and Ethen Frank finding the net this season.

"We were just trying to start the period off right, get pucks deep, play a simple game, and we got a lucky bounce off the ref. I wasn't really trying to do much, but get a puck on net and we were fortunate to win [...] He knows a lot of my breakaway moves, so I'm glad I didn't get embarrassed with that. But no, it's all in good fun and he's a great guy and a really good goalie." - Ethen Frank on his game-winning goal and further elaborating on his decision-making while facing his college teammate, Brandon Bussi.

"I mean all of them. It's hard to single one guy out - three games in two and a half days, a couple of guys played all of them. It might look like sometimes, maybe it's not crazy hard because they're backed a little bit from the play. But you get way more tired I think for those guys defending than you do playing offense. Nesser's probably what, logging 20-something minutes a game? There's six 'D' out there, over three games and granted, not all of them play all three games, but they're not fun minutes for them all the time back there. So for them to keep their feet moving and go to block shots and do the little stuff that doesn't get noticed for today at three o'clock, after we played two [games] and switched hotels every night this weekend, it's just a testament to the group that we have in there. They're not doing it for themselves. Nobody wants to block a shot for themselves, they're doing it because they don't want to let the rest of the guys down." - Hunter Shepard when asked who among his team's defensemen stood out in providing him support.

NEXT GAME:

The Bears continue the 2024-25 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, when they return home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for College Night. The first 500 college students in attendance will receive a t-shirt, courtesy of Enck's Trophies and Screen Printing. Purchase tickets for the game.

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