Photo: Eric Lord
Through a quarter of the American Hockey League (AHL) season, a Hershey Bears goalie leads the league in shutouts, ranks second in the league in goals against average and fourth in save percentage. If you guessed that goalie was Hunter Shepard, you would be wrong. The correct answer is Clay Stevenson. The rookie netminder has made the most of his starts and given the Bears a potent one-two punch in goal.
Last season was Stevenson’s rookie campaign and the Drayton Valley, Alberta native spent most of it in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays. He played 36 games for South Carolina, compiling a 19-12-3-1 record with a 2.54 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Stevenson recorded three shutouts in the campaign and was named ECHL Goaltender of the Week for Nov. 28-Dec. 4. He went 2-0-0 with a shutout and a 0.50 goals-against average. The netminder also posted save percentage of .986 in two appearances against Savannah.
The Dartmouth College product got a taste of the AHL, playing three games for Hershey. Stevenson won all three of his starts with a 1.96 goals against average and .924 save percentage. He then served as a black ace during the Bears run to the Calder Cup.
With Zach Fucale departing for the KHL, Hershey had an opening behind Shepard. Stevenson seized the job and ended up starting the first two games of the season when Shepard went down with an illness. He dropped the season opener, surrendering two goals in a 3-0 loss to Belleville. However, the rookie really did not have a chance on either goal and the chocolate and white’s game overall was not what it needed to be. Stevenson earned the win the next day as he made 19 saves in the victory over Cleveland.
After losing his third start on October 25 in a contest where the Bears collapsed in the third period in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Stevenson took his game to another level. The Albertan captured the victory in four of his next five starts. Three of these triumphs were via the shutout.
The first clean sheet came against Lehigh Valley on October 28. The Phantoms only had three shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes, but one of them was a grade A opportunity. With Hershey up 1-0, Garrett Wilson found Ronnie Attard cutting towards goal in front. Stevenson came across to thwart Attard’s shot with his glove. The netminder was much busier in the second and third periods as Lehigh Valley pelted him with 29 shots. Stevenson was up to the challenge, stopping everything that came his way en route to his first AHL shutout and being named the game’s number one star.
The former first team All-Ivy League selection nearly made it back to back shutouts in his next start, only surrendering a single goal in a 3-1 victory versus Bridgeport. He held the chocolate and white in the game only giving up one tally on 10 shots during a first period where the Bears were outplayed. Stevenson then blanked the Phantoms again in his next appearance on November 11, making 24 saves. He was the number two star in each of those games.
Following a tough outing against Lehigh Valley on November 12, Stevenson raised his game to another level in his next two starts. He merited his third shutout in Bridgeport on November 18, turning aside all 25 shots he saw in a 4-0 triumph. The clean sheet came after the Bears gave up eight goals in their previous two games (both wins).
In his next start against the Iowa Wild on November 26, the one time member of the Coquitlam Express delivered what might be his best performance of his AHL career. Stevenson did not earn a shutout, but came through with 13 high end saves. At the very end of the first period with the Wild on a power play, he made a left pad save on Jujhar Khaira with seven seconds and then knocked down Pavel Novak’s follow up try. Early in the second (as the power play continued), the goaltender stopped Vinni Lettieri’s shot from the left circle with his blocker and followed up by denying two rebound attempts from Sammy Walker.
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— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) November 26, 2023
Later in the middle frame, Stevenson turned aside a bid from Steven Fogarty in close and then rebuffed Nic Petan’s rebound shot with his left pad on a penalty kill. He had no chance to stop the Iowa goal later on the same power play after Vincent Iorio kicked the puck into his own net.
Stevenson best sequence on a night of great saves came with 3:03 remaining in the middle stanza. Adam Raska tried to jam the puck by Stevenson from the left side, but the netminder held his position and stonewalled Raska with his right pad. Raska regathered the biscuit and sought to slide the puck low to the glove side, but the left pad of Stevenson denied that attempt as well. The danger was not over as the puck came to Mike O’Leary alone in front. This is where Stevenson produced a save of the year candidate. Sprawled on his stomach, the Albertan raised his arm and batted O’Leary shot away with his glove.
In all, Stevenson made 18 saves in the second period and added five more in the third. Three of those came in quick succession at the end of the game when the Wild had a power play with the goalie pulled. In the end, the netminder finished with 27 saves and was deservedly name the game’s number one star.
The elevated play of Stevenson gives head coach Todd Nelson the ability to roll out either one of his goalies with confidence. In his last six starts, the rookie has posted a 5-1 record with a goals against average of 1.00 and a .961 save percentage. All three of his shutouts have come in that span. While Shepard is the clear number one goalie on the team, Stevenson is pushing for more playing time and if Shepard gets recalled to Washington, the Bears will be in good hands with Clay Stevenson.
By Eric Lord