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.
Monsters strike first, lead 1-0 midway through first period. Michal Kempny clipped in the face on the play, has gone to the room. #HBH pic.twitter.com/zMDA2iqLXg
— Jon Sorensen (@jon_m_sorensen) October 31, 2021
After the two teams exchanged a couple of solid (legal) hits, the Bears’ Dylan McIlrath and Monsters’ Brent Gallant dropped the gloves.
Bears’ Dylan McIlrath and Monsters’ Brent Gallant drop the gloves. #HBH pic.twitter.com/eSUV93uncJ
— Jon Sorensen (@jon_m_sorensen) October 31, 2021
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.
Mike Sgarbossa to Axel Jonsson-Fjallby back to Mike Sgarbossa for the score. Game tied 1-1 early in middle frame. #ALLCAPS #HBH pic.twitter.com/tbTdLzc3Hz
— Jon Sorensen (@jon_m_sorensen) October 31, 2021
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.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby blasts one from the left side, redirected by Garrett Pilon, his 4th tally of the season. Bears lead 2-1 late in 3nd frame. #HBH #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/zJ71T91esx
— Jon Sorensen (@jon_m_sorensen) October 31, 2021
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.
Bombs away for Franson! #HBH pic.twitter.com/PZ0YAUeAix
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) October 31, 2021
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.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby with a laser to beat Tarasov and win the game in OT for the Hershey Bears, 4-3.
Cleveland extends their point streak to seven games. That’s 4 out of 6 points on this 3-in-3 weekend.#CLEvsHER pic.twitter.com/NY6lMJQqW2— Deana Weinheimer (@FPHMonsters) October 31, 2021
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
AJF for the big club! Has Protas been struggling in Hershey?
He was a healthy scratch.
The broadcast said he was “unavailable” to the team.