Bears Beat Thunderbirds 2-1 In Overtime, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby Scores Game Winner

Photo: Caroline O’Connor/Great Save Productions/Hershey Bears

The Hershey Bears beat the Springfield Thunderbirds 2-1 (OT) Saturday night at the Giant Center in Hershey. The win is the Bears seventh-straight victory, and improves their record to 15-9-2-3 (35 points) on the season. With the win the Bears move into sole position of third place in the Atlantic Division, six points behind both Hartford and Providence.

After a scoreless first frame, the Bears would strike first with a re-directed goal by Matt Moulson midway through the middle frame. The Thunderbirds would answer with a power play goal late in the second period for a 1-1 tie at the second intermission. The game would remain tied throughout the remainder of regulation. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby would win it in overtime for the Bears.

STARTERS
Vitek Vanecek (8-4-1-1, 2.30 GAA, .911 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Bears. Samuael Montembeault (2-3-0-0, 3.82 GAA, .891 GAA) got the start in goal for the Thunderbirds. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:

Lineup for 12/21/2019 vs. Springfield ⬇️ #HBH pic.twitter.com/mJBctBEPBn

— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) December 21, 2019

Scratches: Lucas Johansen (lower body injury, day-to-day), Shane Gersich (lower body injury, day-to-day), Steve Whitney (upper body injury), Eric Burgdoerfer (upper body injury), Beck Malenstyn (upper-body injury) and Colby Williams (lower body injury, week-to-week) were the injury scratches. Connor Hobbs and Riley Sutter were the healthy scratches.

FIRST PERIOD
The Bears and Thunderbirds would skate to a scoreless first frame. The Bears led in shots 13-6 for the first 20 minutes. The Bears were 0 for 1 on the power play. The Thunderbirds did not have a power play in the first frame.

The Bears best opportunity came late in the frame after a turnover in the Thunderbirds zone. Brett Leason was this close to giving the Bears a 1-0 lead.

SECOND PERIOD
Capitals prospect Alex Alexeyev would go down early in the middle frame. It appeared he clipped legs with teammate Mike Sgarbossa. He would make it off the ice under his own power, and miss just one shift in the game.

#CapsProspect Alex Alexeyev goes down after clipping legs with teammate Mike Sgarbossa. Slow to get up but did leave ice under his own power. pic.twitter.com/bWLKCnSHgG

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) December 22, 2019

The Bears would finally break the seal on the scoring with a redirect of a Martin Fehervary shot by Matt Moulson (9) at 13:28 of the middle frame. Martin Fehervary (8) and Liam O’Brien (8) had the helpers.

Moments after the Bears score, Christian Djoos would be checked into the corner boards and injured.

Christian Djoos was injured on this play in the second period. He would leave the game, return later to try and give it a go, but ultimately couldn’t continue. pic.twitter.com/WR1HpSYnkh

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) December 22, 2019

The Thunderbirds would tie the game late in the second period with a power play goal from Henrik Borgstrom (8) at 18:35 of the middle frame.

Vitek Vanecek continued his strong play. Earlier in the second period, after a turnover by Alex Alexeyev in the offensive zone, the Thunderbirds had a clean breakaway, but Vanecek stoned the shot.

The second period would end with the game tied 1-1. Hershey led in shots on goal 14-9 for the second period, and led 27-15 after two periods of play. Springfield was 1 for 1 and Hershey 0 for 2 on the power play after two periods.

THIRD PERIOD
The Bears and Thunderbirds would skate to a scoreless final frame. Springfield led in shots on goal 13-8 for the third period, with Hershey leading 35-28 in regulation.

OVERTIME
The Bears would win it OT. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby would pot the game-winner, for the Bears seventh-straight victory.

#CapsProspect Axel Jonsson-Fjallby wins it for the Bears in Overtime #AxelFlows pic.twitter.com/RzVfcIxyaA

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) December 22, 2019

The Bears are back on the ice on Sunday when they close-out their two-game set with the Thunderbirds. Puck drop is set for 1:00 PM.

By Jon Sorensen

SHAVINGS

Attendance: 7,358
The AHL box score is here.
Stars of the game: 1)Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, 2) Vitek Vanecek and 3) S. Montembault
Bears led in shots 39-28.
Vitek Vanecek stopped 27 of 28 for a .964 game save percentage.
Springfield was 1 for 3 and the Bears 0 for 2 on the power play.