Bears Jump On Phantoms For 5-2 Win; Brian Pinho, Brett Leason, Garrett Pilon Score

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Jon Sorensen
Photo: Lehigh Valley Phantoms

The Hershey Bears beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5-2 Sunday afternoon at the PPL Center in Allentown. The Bears struck quickly with goals from Matt Mouslon and Garrett Pilon to take a 2-0 lead just 3:01 into the contest. The Phantoms would cut the Bears lead to one early in the middle frame and add a tally late in the period for a 2-2 tie at the second intermission. The Bears would take a 3-2 lead midway through the final frame on Matt Moulson’s second power play goal of the game, and would add goals from Brett Leason and Brian Pinho (ENG) for the 5-2 final. The win improves the Bears record to 31-15-2-3 (67 points). The Bears are three points ahead of the Hartford Wolf Pack for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Wolf Pack have one game in hand.

STARTERS
Vitek Vanecek (13-9-1-1, 2.43 GAA, .912 sv%) started between the pipes for the visiting Bears. J.F. Berube (11-9-4-3, 2.41 GAA, .946 sv%) got the start in goal for the Phantoms. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:

Scratches: Tyler Lewington (illness), Mike Sgarbossa (lower-body injury, day-to-day), Steve Whitney (upper body injury, week-to-week), Lucas Johansen and Connor Hobbs (shoulder surgery last week, out indefinitely) were the injury scratches. Kale Kessy, Tommy Hughes, Matt Weiss and Chris McCarthy were the healthy scratches.

Martin Fehervary was recalled by the Capitals on Saturday morning. As a result, the Bears recalled Tommy Hughes from South Carolina. Fehervary was re-assigned to Hershey (paper move) on Sunday.

FIRST PERIOD
The Bears opened the scoring with a goal from Matt Moulson (17) at 1:09 of the first frame. Phil Maillet (20) had the primary assist. The play was setup on a forced turnover by Joe Snively (9).

The Bears quickly increased their lead to 2-0 with a power play goal from Garrett Pilon (14) at 3:01 of the first frame. Christian Djoos (22) and Phil Maillet (21) had the helpers.

The first period would expire with Bears leading 2-0. The Bears led in shots 11-6 for the first period. Hershey was 1 for 2 and Lehigh Valley 0 for 1 on the power play in the first frame.

SECOND PERIOD
The Phantoms would close the gap to a single goal with a tally from Steven Swavely at 2:56 of the middle frame.

The Phantoms would tie the game on a turnover by Bobby Nardella in his own zone. Isaac Ratcliffe would gather the puck and finish on Vanecek at 16:46 of the middle frame.

THIRD PERIOD
The Bears would grab the lead midway through the final period with a power play goal from Matt Mouslon (18) at 9:11 of the final frame. Bobby Nardella (19) and Christian Djoos (23) with the helpers.

The Bears would make it 4-2 on Brett Leason’s second goal of the season at 14:07 of the final frame. Riley Sutter (3) and Beck Malenstyn (6) had the helpers.

The Bears would add an empty net goal from Brian Pinho for the 5-2 final.

SHAVINGS

  • Attendance: 8,442
  • AHL box score
  • Lehigh Valley led in shots 33-21.
  • Vitek Vanecek stopped 31 of 33 shots for a .939 game save percentage.
  • Lehigh Valley was 0 for 5 and Hershey 2 for 4 on the power play.
  • Axel Jonsson-Fjallby led the Bears in shots with 4.

SCENES FROM ALLENTOWN

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🧡🧡🧡 coincidental mocktail matchymatchy 🧡🧡🧡

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Hockey game with dad!

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About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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2 Responses to Bears Jump On Phantoms For 5-2 Win; Brian Pinho, Brett Leason, Garrett Pilon Score

  1. Day One Caps Fan says:
    February 10, 2020 at 9:07 am

    Hershey Bears are improving and rocketing upward in the AHL Standings.
    The Caps are regressing and dropping like a rock.

    I don’t like it

    Reply

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