Aliaksei Protas Records Three Points In Bears 5-2 Victory Over Thunderbirds

Photo: The Hershey Bears

The Hershey Bears downed the Springfield Thunderbirds, 5-2 Saturday night at the Giant Center in Hershey. The victory improves the Bears record to 32-27-5-4 (73 points) on the season.

The Thunderbirds opened the scoring midway through the first frame but the Bears answered with goals from Dylan McIlrath and Aliaksei Protas for a 2-1 lead at the first intermission.

The Bears extended their lead to 3-1 on Shane Gersich’s 13th goal of the season, but the Thunderbirds were able to answer late in the period for a 3-2 Bears lead at the second break.

The Bears stretched their lead to 4-2 on Mike Vecchione’s 15th goal of the season early in the final frame and Cody Franson would add a 5-on-3 power play goal late for the 5-2 final.

STARTERS

The Bears started goaltender Pheonix Copley (16-9-5-2, 2.38 GAA, .913 sv %) in net while the Thunderbirds countered with Charlie Lindgren (21-4-1-1, 2.26 GAA, .923 sv%). The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:

Injuries: Brian Pinho (shoulder surgery), Matt Moulson (back surgery), Mike Sgarbossa (upper-body injury), Riley Sutter (upper-body injury).

Scratches: Jake Massie, Macoy Erkamps, Christopher Brown and Clay Stevenson.


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 Aliaksei Protas Records Three Points In Bears 5-2 Victory Over Thunderbirds

  1. Diane Doyle says:

    Great game for Bears. Seemed to be a long time coming. Great game for Protas. Hopefully, he’ll be ready for a full time role with the Caps next season.

  2. steven says:

    Cant wait for camp next fall when Protas, McMichael and others will be flying around the ice trying to win jobs!!

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