Screen cap: AHL TV
The Hershey Bears downed the Springfield Thunderbirds, 1-0 Sunday night at Giant Center in Hershey. Pierrick Dube scored the lone goal in the contest, his 14th tally of the season. Hunter Shepard stopped all 18 shots he faced for his first shutout of the 2023-24 season. The victory improves the Bears record to 22-6-0 on the season.
LINEUP
Hunter Shepard (11-2-0, 2.50 GAA, .899 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Bears. Malcolm Subban (5-5-2, 2.49 GAA, .913 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting T-Birds. The forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:
Ivan Miroshnichenko – Mike Sgarbossa – Ethen Frank
Alex Limoges – Jimmy Huntington – Pierrick Dube
Garrett Roe – Hendrix Lapierre – Bogdan Trineyev
Matthew Strome – Riley Sutter – Henrik Rybinski
Hardy Haman-Aktell – Dylan McIlrath
Aaron Ness – Vincent Iorio
Chase Priskie – Logan Day
Hunter Shepard
Clay Stevenson
Scratches: Jake Massie (lower-body injury), Mike Vecchione (upper body injury), Ryan Hofer, Dmitri Osipov and Colin Swoyer.
Recalls and Re-assignments: Nicky Lieverman was recalled from South Carolina on Sunday.
1ST PERIOD
Former Capitals forward and current winger for the Springfield Thunderbirds Jakub Vrana returned to Giant Center.
Former #Caps winger and 2018 Stanley Cup winner Jakub Vrana back in Hershey, this time with the Springfield Thunderbirds (#92). #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/PrsEnIWAZu
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) December 17, 2023
The Bears presented a “Thank You” message at the first television timeout in the first period.
Thanks for the memories, V! 🥹 pic.twitter.com/qWgw5DyEoz
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) December 17, 2023
As for the hockey, there was no scoring in the opening stanza. Hershey led in shots 9-8. The Bears were 0 for 1 on the power play while the T-Birds did not have a man advantage in the first 20 minutes.
2ND PERIOD
The Bears and Thunderbirds skated to a scoreless draw in the middle frame as well.
Hershey led in shots, 4-3. The Bears were 0 for 2 and Springfield 0 for 0 on the power play after two periods of play.
3RD PERIOD
The Bears finally cracked the seal on the scoring on a blast from Pierrick Dubé (14) at 5:31 of the final frame. Aaron Ness (8) and Vincent Iorio (6) had the helpers.
That puck had a MOTOR behind it, and Dubes collects his 14th of the season!
🍎Ness
🍏Iorio https://t.co/2AFmBELEXb pic.twitter.com/1WW68yQwhZ— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) December 17, 2023
And that was it as the Bears held on for the 1-0 win.
Shots finished 19-18 in favor of Hershey. Shepard stopped all 18 shots he faced to earn his 12th victory of the season, tying him for first in the league; Subban took the loss for Springfield with an 18-for-19 effort. Hershey went 0-for-2 on the power play; the Thunderbirds went 0-for-1 with the man advantage.
SHAVINGS
- AHL box score
- Attendance: 9,053