Hershey Bears Drop Cleveland Monsters 4-3 in Overtime, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby Scores Game-Winner

Screen cap: AHL TV

The Hershey Bears defeated the Cleveland Monsters, 4-3 in overtime Sunday night at the Giant Center in Hershey. The win moved the Bears record to 4-1-1-1 (10 points) on the season.

SUMMARY

The Monsters struck first with a power play goal midway through the first period and held a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. The Bears would rally back in the middle frame with goals from Mike Sgarbossa and Garrett Pilon to take a 2-1 lead. The Monsters would add a goal late in the middle frame for a 2-2 at the second intermission. The two teams traded markers in the third period before proceeding to overtime, where Axel Jonsson-Fjallby would strike to give the Chocolate and White the victory.

STARTERS

Pheonix Copley (1-1-1-0, 2.94 GAA, .878 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Bears. Daniil Tarasov (0-1-1-0, 3.45 GAA, .881 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Monsters. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:

Scratches: Riley Sutter (injured), Aliaksei Protas and Kody Clark (lower-body injury).

Recalled: The Capitals recalled forward Brett Leason from Hershey on October 29. The Bears recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard from South Carolina on October 28.

Reassigned: Hunter Shepard (G), Jake Massie (D) and Ryan Dmowski (F) were reassigned to South Carolina (ECHL) on Tuesday (10/19).


FIRST PERIOD

The Monsters struck first midway through the first period with a power play goal from Josh Dunne (2) at 7:55 of the first. Liam Foudy (2) and Tim Berni (2) had the helpers. Bears defenseman Michal Kempny was clipped in the face on the play and went to the room.

After the two teams exchanged a couple of solid (legal) hits, the Bears’ Dylan McIlrath and Monsters’ Brent Gallant dropped the gloves.

The first period would conclude with the Monsters holding on to the 1-0 lead. Cleveland led in shots 14-7. The Monsters were 1 for 1 on the power play while the Bears did not have a man advantage in the first frame.


SECOND PERIOD

The Bears would tie the score on a beautiful give-and-go between Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Mike Sgarbossa, who finished for the tying tally at 5:25 of the second period.

The Bears would quickly take their first lead of the game with a redirected shot by Garrett Pilon (4) at 7:10 of the second period. Lucas Johansen (1) and Matt Moulson (2) had the assists.

With just under six minutes left to play, Cleveland’s Jake Christensen potted his third goal of the season to knot the score at 2-2 on assists from Tyler Sikura and Adam Helewka. The two clubs headed into the second intermission with two goals apiece and the Monsters holding the advantage in shots.

THIRD PERIOD

22 seconds into the final frame, Monsters Center Liam Foudy scored his third of the young 2021-22 season assisted by Tyler Angle. With 10:35 left in the period, the Bears got the man-advantage once more when Cleveland’s Tim  Berni was called for interference. With 54 seconds left on the 5-on-4, the Bears were gifted a brief, 5-on-3 as Angle was called for slashing.

Bears defenseman Cody Franson tied the game on the power play at the 12:12 mark of the third, assisted by Mike Vecchione and Mike Sgarbossa; the goal marked Franson’s second of the season.

With neither team able to gain the edge in regulation, the two clubs headed to overtime. In the final seconds, Bears defenseman Dylan McIlrath was called for tripping, sending the Chocolate and White to the penalty kill to start the overtime period. The two teams ended the final frame of regulation with the Bears holding the edge in shots 36-34. The two teams were each called for penalties twice in the third, with the Bears’ final infraction carrying over into the overtime period.

OVERTIME

After killing off the power play, the two teams battled in the overtime period before Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored his third goal of the season to win the game for Hershey, assisted by Mike Vecchione.

Jonsson-Fjallby was named the first star of the game, while Mike Sgarbossa earned second star honors, each with a goal and assist. The Bears finished the contest with 38 shots to the Monsters’ 36. Both teams scored just once on the man-advantage, with Hershey being unable to convert on two of their three power plays, while Cleveland failed to take advantage on four of their five.

SHAVINGS

  • AHL box score
  • Attendance: 5,610
  • Bears led in shots 38-36.
  • Brian Pinho led the Bears in shots with 6.
  • Pheonix Copley stopped 33 of 36 shots for a .916 game save percentage.
  • Cleveland was 1 for 5 and the Bears 1 for 3 on the power play in the game.

By Jon Sorensen/Michael Fleetwood

SCENES FROM HERSHEY

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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3 Responses to Hershey Bears Drop Cleveland Monsters 4-3 in Overtime, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby Scores Game-Winner

  1. redLitYogi says:

    AJF for the big club! Has Protas been struggling in Hershey?

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