Hershey Bears 5, Hartford Wolf Pack 4 (OT)
BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack
Hershey, PA, January 18, 2020 – Hershey Bears defenseman Tyler Lewington, who had not scored a goal in 25 previous games on the season, scored twice, including the game-winner 58 seconds into overtime, Saturday night at Giant Center, in a 5-4 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The last of four straight road games for the Wolf Pack was a back-and-forth affair, with Hershey scoring early in the first period, the Wolf Pack coming back with three straight goals, only to see the Bears get the next three.
Yegor Rykov scored his first career North American pro goal for the Wolf Pack and added an assist, and Steven Fogarty also had a goal and an assist. Garrett Pilon had a goal and an assist for Hershey, and Liam O’Brien had two assists.
The winning goal came after Lewington played the puck from just inside the Wolf Pack blue line to Axel Jonsson-Fjallby at the top of the left circle. Lewington broke down the right side, and Jonsson-Fjallby hit him with a perfect return pass. Lewington’s shot got by Wolf Pack goaltender Adam Huska (26 saves) on the stick side.
The Bears jumped on top only 2:02 into the game, on a goal by Beck Malenstyn. After the Wolf Pack’s Mason Geertsen partially fanned on a pass at the Hershey blue line, Kody Clark carried the puck into the Wolf Pack zone on left wing and dropped it off to Malenstyn, who fired a shot past the catching glove of Huska.
Rykov equalized for the Wolf Pack at 10:18. A Tim Gettinger shot went wide right of the Hershey net, but Boo Nieves picked up the carom in the right-wing corner. He fed a centering pass to the slot, and Rykov, crashing down from his left point position, one-timed the puck past Hershey netminder Pheonix Copley (18 saves) high on the stick side.
Fogarty gave Hartford its first lead of the game at 14:17 after the Wolf Pack survived some strong Hershey pressure. Malenstyn passed the puck from deep in his own end, and Danny O’Regan intercepted near the blue line. He threw the puck at the net, and Fogarty deflected it past Copley’s right skate.
The Wolf Pack upped the lead to two at 16:44, on Matt Beleskey’s 11th goal of the season. Shawn McBride sent the puck to Joey Keane at the middle of the blue line, and he stickhandled to the right-wing wall. Keane snapped the puck from the half boards, and Beleskey tipped it into the top corner over Copley’s catching glove.
The Bears had another strong start in the second period, though, cutting the margin to 3-2 only 30 seconds in. A Libor Hajek pass up the boards in the Wolf Pack zone was cut off by Pilon, and he poked the puck to O’Brien in the left circle. He returned it to Pilon at the bottom of the circle, and his quick release beat Huska on the short side.
Shane Gersich lifted Hershey into a tie at 16:51, burying a shot into the top corner on Huska’s glove side. Gersich started the play, dropping the puck to Erik Burgdoerfer at the right point. He carried down the boards and all the way around the net, before sending a pass back to Gersich on the left side of the slot.
The Bears moved back into the lead at 7:27 of the third period, as Lewington scored his first goal of the season. Pilon sent a pass from high in the slot to Lewington at the right point, and he moved down almost to the bottom of the circle, before putting a shot underneath Huska’s left arm and into the net.
The Wolf Pack got that goal right back only 1:36 later, at 9:03, on Vitali Kravtsov’s second goal in the last three games. Fogarty carried the puck into the Hershey end and handed off to Kravtsov on left-wing, and his shot went through a screen and beat Copley high to the glove side.
The Wolf Pack returns home to the XL Center for their next action, this Friday, January 24 vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, with faceoff at 7:15. That is “Pucks and Paws Night”, and all Friday-night Wolf Pack home games feature $1 hot dogs and $2 beers through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest.
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 4 at Hershey Bears 5 (OT)
Saturday, January 18, 2020 – Giant Center
Hartford 3 0 1 0 – 4
Hershey 1 2 1 1 – 5
1st Period-1, Hershey, Malenstyn 6 (Clark), 2:02. 2, Hartford, Rykov 1 (Nieves, Gettinger), 10:18. 3, Hartford, Fogarty 10 (O’Regan), 14:17. 4, Hartford, Beleskey 11 (Keane, McBride), 16:44. Penalties-No Penalties
2nd Period-5, Hershey, Pilon 10 (O’Brien), 0:30. 6, Hershey, Gersich 5 (Burgdoerfer, Nardella), 16:51. Penalties-Kravtsov Hfd (hooking), 6:00; Burgdoerfer Her (hooking), 8:35.
3rd Period-7, Hershey, Lewington 1 (Pilon, O’Brien), 7:27. 8, Hartford, Kravtsov 4 (Fogarty, Rykov), 9:03. Penalties-No Penalties
OT Period-9, Hershey, Lewington 2 (Jonsson-Fjallby, Djoos), 0:58. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Hartford 9-8-5-0-22. Hershey 10-14-6-1-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 / 1; Hershey 0 / 1.
Goalies-Hartford, Huska 8-5-5 (31 shots-26 saves). Hershey, Copley 11-6-4 (22 shots-18 saves).
A-8,310
Referees-Corey Syvret (42), Anthony Tapper (9).
Linesmen-Colin Gates (3), Bob Goodman (90).
