Shepard Backstops Bears To 2-1 Win Over Wolf Pack
Published on February 11, 2023 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) - Hunter Shepard made a season-high 33 saves and the Hershey Bears (30-12-4-1) used a two-goal first period to hang on for a 2-1 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack (19-19-3-6) on Saturday night at GIANT Center.
With the team's 30th win in its 47th game, Hershey matched the 2010-11 Bears squad (30-14-1-2) as the second-fastest teams in club history to reach the 30-victory plateau, surpassed only by the 2008-09 and 2009-10 teams, which both hit the 30-win mark in their 41st contest under an 80-game schedule.
Hershey opened the scoring at 12:13 of the first period when Mike Vecchione centered the puck to Mike Sgarbossa in the slot from the right circle, and Sgarbossa gathered his own blocked shot and beat Dylan Garand for his 16th of the season.
The Bears made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal with less than five minutes remaining in the stanza when Henrik Rybinski stole the puck at the Hershey blue line for a breakaway and fired a shot underneath the blocker of Garand at 15:08 for his third of the season.
Hartford's Will Cuylle got his club on the board at 10:46 of the second period when he snuck a sharp-angle shot behind Shepard at the right post to cut Hershey's lead to 2-1.
The Bears limited Hartford to only six shots in the third period to close out the game, despite some carryover time from a second-period double-minor penalty and a pair of sequences on the penalty kill in the final frame.
Shots finished 34-20 in favor of the Wolf Pack. Shepard went 33-for-34 for his 13th win of the season; Garand was 18-for-20 for Hartford. The Bears were 0-for-6 on the power play; the Wolf Pack finished 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
Hershey continues the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, when the Chocolate and White begin a three-game road trip that opens against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7:05 p.m. The Bears return home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. for Faulkner Dodge Ram Bucket Hat Night. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bears bucket hat, courtesy of Faulkner Dodge Ram. Purchase tickets for the game.
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