Hershey Bears Fall To Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 5-4 (OT); Joe Snively Scores First Of The Season

The Hershey Bears fell to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms , 5-4 (OT) Sunday afternoon at Giant Center in Hershey. It was the second-straight Sunday in which the Bears would give up a goal late in regulation and lose in overtime to the Phantoms. With the loss the Bears record falls to 1-0-2-0 on the season.

STARTERS
Ilya Samsonov (0-0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, .000 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Bears. Zane McIntyre (1-0-1-0, 1.49 GAA, .949 sv%) got the start in goal for the Phantoms. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:

Scratches: Paul LaDue (upper body), Eddie Whittchow (upper body injury),Riley Sutter (upper body), Tyler Nanne, Mason Morelli, Kale Kessy, Will Graber, Caleb Herbert.

The Washington Capitals announced on Sunday that Ilya Samsonov would be sent to Hershey on a conditioning assignment. Samsonov’s last game was almost a month ago, on January 17 against the Penguins.

Ilya Samsonov warming up for Hershey Bears. Samsonov’s last game was almost a month ago, on January 17 against the Penguins. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/ChTz6licES

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) February 14, 2021

FIRST PERIOD
The Bears struck quickly with a goal from Joe Snively just 16 seconds into the game. Reece Willcox (1) and Lucas Johansen (1) had the helpers.

The Phantoms would tie the game with a goal from Logan Day (1) at 8:33 of the first period.

The Phantoms would make it 2-1 with a goal from Zayde Wisdom (1) at 19:36 of the opening frame.

The first period would conclude with the Phantoms leading 2-1. Lehigh Valley led in shots 14-10. Lehigh Valley was 0 for 1 and the Bears 0 for 0 on the power play in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD
The Phantoms would quickly make it 3-1 with a goal from Matthew Strome (1) at 2:42 of the middle frame.

The Bears would close the gap to 3-2 with a goal from Cameron Schilling (1) at 13:03 of the middle frame. Joe Snively (1) and Lucas Johansen (2) had the assists.

The Bears would tie the game with a goal from Michael Sgarbossa (2) at 16:32 of the middle frame. Martin Fehervary (1) and Cameron Schilling (1) had the helpers.

The second period would conclude with the game tied 3-3. Hershey led in shots 11-5 for the middle frame, and 21-19 after two periods. Lehigh Valley was 0 for 2 and the Bears 0 for 2 on the power play after two periods.

THIRD PERIOD
The Bears would re-take the lead early in the final frame with a sweet backhander from Rob O’Gara (1) at 5:52 of the final frame. Damien Rait (1) and Matt Moulson (2) had the assists.

The Phantoms would tie the game late in the third period with a goal from Zayde Wisdom (2) at 14:44 of the final frame, his second goal of the game.

The period would end tied 4-4.

OVERTIME
The Phantoms would win it in overtime.

The Bears are back in action on Wednesday when they face the Binghamton Devils in New Jersey. Puck drop is set for just after 7:00 PM.

SHAVINGS

Ilya Samsonov stopped 24 of 29 shots faced.
Bears led in shots 36-29.
Joe Snively led the Bears in shots with 6. Cameron Schilling, Mike Sgarbossa, Connor McMichael and Garrett Pilon each had 5 shots.
Lehigh Valley was 0 for 3 and the Bears 0 for 2 on the power play.
The Washington Capitals re-assigned goaltender Ilya Samsonov to the Bears on Saturday (announced on Sunday). The Russian netminder will look to make his first AHL appearance since Game 4 of the 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals versus Charlotte.
This afternoon’s game was Hershey’s first game on Valentine’s Day since 2015. Hershey cruised to a 5-2 win at Giant Center over the Portland Pirates in front of 10,718. Both Dustin Gazley and Stanislav Galiev had two goals for Hershey in that contest, while current Hershey defender Cameron Schilling played in the victory for the Bears.