CRAWFORD: BEARS MAKE PACK HIBERNATE IN OT

Hershey Bears 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 3 (OT)

BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack

Hershey, PA, December 1, 2019 – Steven Fogarty’s second goal of the game forced overtime with 2:03 left in the third period, but Brett Leason scored at 2:21 of OT to give the Hershey Bears a 4-3 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack Sunday at Giant Center.

A pass from Christian Djoos sent Leason down the left side in the Wolf Pack zone, and Hartford goaltender Adam Huska (25 saves) stopped Leason’s initial shot.  Huska could not control the rebound, though, and Leason flicked it into the net on his forehand, for his third point of the contest.

Fogarty’s team-leading seventh tally of the season earned the Wolf Pack a standings point for the 18th time in 22 games on the season (11-4-2-5).  With the teams skating 4-on-4, Vinni Lettieri backhanded the puck on goal from in the slot, and Hershey netminder Pheonix Copley (26 saves) made a stick stop.  Fogarty jumped on the rebound, however, and flipped the puck through Copley’s legs from the left side of the goal-mouth.

Hershey opened the scoring at 8:11 of the first period, on a rebound goal by defenseman Christian Djoos.  Mike Sgarbossa passed the puck from the left-wing side to Joe Snively in the middle.  His shot was stopped by Huska, but the puck caromed back out into the slot, and Djoos fired it in.

After a 40-minute delay for the cleanup of Hershey’s “Teddy Bear Toss”, Fogarty equalized for the Wolf Pack at 11:35, on Hartford’s first power play of the game.  With Kody Clark off for slashing, Fogarty took a drop pass from Joey Keane at his own blue line and clicked on a strong solo rush.  After slicing through the Bear defense, he finished with a low shot through the pads of Copley.

The Wolf Pack power play cashed in for a second time in two chances 7:37 into the second period, giving Hartford its first lead of the game.  After Tyler Lewington was called for interference at 6:11, Nick Ebert played the puck from the left point across to Phil DiGiuseppe high in the right circle.  He dropped it off to Vincent LoVerde high in the slot, and his one-timer beat Copley to the stick side.

Hershey’s Shane Gersich brought the Bears back into a tie at 15:16, with a shot from the bottom of the left circle.  Leason put the puck on net from the right boards, and Liam O’Brien jammed the rebound away from Huska, who could not scramble to his right quickly enough to stop Gersich’s bid.

Hershey then jumped in front again at 5:08 of the third period, with Beck Malenstyn scoring in his first game back from a recall stint with the Washington Capitals.  A shot from the left point by Ed Wittchow hit traffic in front of the goal, and, after Leason poked it on the net from the right side, it went off of Huska’s stick to Malenstyn in the slot.  He banged the puck in from close range.

The Wolf Pack finish a stretch of five straight road games this Friday night, December 6, traveling to Springfield for a 7:05 PM game vs. the Thunderbirds.  All of the action can be heard live on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com, and video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV.

The next home game for the Wolf Pack is this Saturday, December 7, when the Binghamton Devils visit the XL Center for a 7:30 game.  That is “Star Wars Night”, as fans can rub shoulders with their favorite Star Wars characters, and win some awesome Star Wars prizes, and the first 2,000 fans will receive a free Wolf Pack 2020 calendar, presented by Hartford Distributors.

Tickets for all 2019-20 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase.

To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (860) 722-9425, or click here to request more info.  To visit the Wolf Pack online, go to hartfordwolfpack.com.

Hartford Wolf Pack 3 at Hershey Bears 4 (OT)
Sunday, December 1, 2019 – Giant Center

Hartford 1 1 1 0 – 3
Hershey 1 1 1 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Hershey, Djoos 2 (Snively, Sgarbossa), 8:11. 2, Hartford, Fogarty 6 (Keane), 11:35 (PP). Penalties-Taylor Hfd (slashing), 1:36; Clark Her (slashing), 11:11; Raddysh Hfd (boarding), 12:44.

2nd Period-3, Hartford, LoVerde 3 (Di Giuseppe, Ebert), 7:37 (PP). 4, Hershey, Gersich 3 (O’Brien, Leason), 15:16. Penalties-Lewington Her (interference), 6:11; Alexeyev Her (high-sticking), 7:51; Andersson Hfd (roughing), 8:44; O’Brien Her (tripping), 11:36; Sgarbossa Her (roughing), 16:46.

3rd Period-5, Hershey, Malenstyn 4 (Leason, Wittchow), 5:08. 6, Hartford, Fogarty 7 (Lettieri, Raddysh), 17:57. Penalties-Jones Hfd (holding), 2:34; Wittchow Her (slashing), 5:15; O’Brien Her (cross-checking), 10:04; Moulson Her (slashing), 13:16; Andersson Hfd (tripping), 17:26; Sgarbossa Her (roughing), 17:33.

OT Period-7, Hershey, Leason 1 (Djoos, Pinho), 2:21. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Hartford 6-10-13-0-29. Hershey 12-10-11-4-37.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 2 / 9; Hershey 0 / 5.
Goalies-Hartford, Huska 4-1-4 (37 shots-33 saves). Hershey, Copley 5-5-4 (29 shots-26 saves).
A-10,014
Referees-Reid Anderson (49), Andrew Bruggeman (22).
Linesmen-Bob Goodman (90), Bill Lyons (27).