Bears Take 3-2 Loss to Checkers in Series Opener
Published on May 16, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Charlotte, NC) - The Hershey Bears (3-3) opened their Atlantic Division Finals series with a 3-2 loss against the Charlotte Checkers (4-2) on Friday night at Bojangles Coliseum. Charlotte leads the best-of-five series 1-0.
NOTABLES:
Sandis Vilmanis scored the only goal of the first period for Charlotte at 8:23, as the Bears were outshot by the Checkers 7-3.
Hershey rebounded with a pair of goals in the second period as Bogdan Trineyev pounced on a Charlotte turnover for an unassisted tally at 6:40 to tie the score at 1-1 with his fourth of the playoffs. Mike Vecchione gave Hershey a 2-1 lead at 13:06 on passes from Vincent Iorio and Mike Sgarbossa.
Michael Benning leveled the score for the Checkers at 2-2 with a power-play goal at 15:50.
John Leonard netted the game-deciding goal in the third period with an unassisted shorthanded tally at 11:58, marking the fourth shorthanded goal allowed by Hershey during the current postseason.
Hershey captain Aaron Ness skated in his 68th career playoff game with the Bears to tie Howie Yanosik for fourth in club history.
SHOTS: HER 19, CLT 24
GOALTENDING: HER - Hunter Shepard, 21-for-24; CLT - Kaapo Kähkönen, 17-for-19
POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-2; CLT - 1-for-3
THEY SAID IT:
Bears head coach Todd Nelson on if there were any surprises with the outcome of tonight's series opener:
"There were no surprises tonight. I expected [Charlotte] to come out like they did in the first period. We just had to weather this storm a bit and I thought we got stronger as the game went on. In the third period, we were coming, and all of a sudden we get a power play opportunity. They scored a shorthanded goal and it breaks our back. So the difference in the game was special teams, they scored a power-play goal and they got a shorthanded goal. That's the difference in the game."
Nelson on adjustments made from the first period through the remainder of the game to counter Charlotte:
"Yeah, I think so. We might tweak it a bit [going forward]. I like the way the guys executed the game plan. We're playing against a good hockey team. Anytime you allow a power-play goal against and then give up a shorty, it's not going to be well for you. But they're a good hockey team. You can't do it against a good hockey team, but the Hershey Bears cannot beat themselves."
Nelson on the play of Bogdan Trineyev, who leads Hershey in the playoffs with four goals:
"I think his scoring touch - he's always been pretty reliable defensively. He's on the [penalty kill] but I think he got rewarded tonight by just putting pressure on the forecheck and scored a goal for us. But just his growth, his confidence - he's growing up, but he's in his second full year [in North America] and he's growing more confident every game he plays."
NEXT GAME:
The Bears continue the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs when Hershey faces the Charlotte Checkers in Game 2 of the Atlantic Division Finals on Saturday, May 17, at 7 p.m. at Bojangles Coliseum. The series resumes in Hershey with Game 3 on Wednesday, May 21 at GIANT Center. Purchase tickets for the game.
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