Bears Win in Overtime over T-Birds, Win Streak Pushed to Seven
Published on December 21, 2019 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears kicked off the first of back-to-back games against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday night, with a thrilling, 2-1 overtime victory at Giant Center. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored his first professional overtime game-winner at 4:03 of the extra session to extend Hershey's winning streak to seven.
After a scoreless first period with Hershey carrying a 13-6 advantage in shots, both teams hit the twine in the second frame. First, Matt Moulson redirected a Martin Fehervary shot to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. At 13:28, Moulson received credit for his ninth goal of the season, and seventh on home ice with a deflection past Springfield goaltender Samuel Montembeault. Liam O'Brien recorded the secondary assist for his eighth helper of the season.
Before the period expired, Springfield drew even on their first power play chance of the night, and lone try on the man-advantage within the first 40 minutes. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby was boxed for an elbowing infraction at 16:53, and Henrik Borgstrom fired a shot off the goal post and past Vitek Vanecek at 18:35 for the equalizer. Shots after two periods were 27-15 Hershey.
The Bears penalty kill rose to the occasion with two successful kills in the third period, and Vanecek stood tall in goal with 13 more stops on as many shots in the stanza. Successful special teams play and goaltending forced the sudden-death overtime period, where Jonsson-Fjallby walked the game off for the Chocolate and White. On a 2-on-1 rush with under a minute remaining, Jonsson-Fjallby snapped a wicked wrister past Montembeault for the overtime winner, keeping the Bears unbeaten in December.
Hershey's record improved to 15-9-2-3 in the victory, while Springfield fell to 16-14-2-0. Final shots on goal were 39-28 Bears. Hershey special teams finished 0-for-2 on the power play, snapping a streak of four straight games with a power play goal, and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Hershey Bears return to action tomorrow in a 1 PM rematch against the Springfield Thunderbirds at Giant Center. It's the Dietz & Watson Holiday Ham Shoot. Fans are welcome onto the ice post game to take part in the Dietz & Watson Holiday Ham Shoot for a chance to win a holiday ham. Ticket information is available online at HersheyBears.com.
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