Bears Close Out 2024 with 1-0 Loss to Checkers

December 29, 2024

The Hershey Bears (19-10-3-0) closed out the calendar year of 2024 with a 1-0 loss to the Charlotte Checkers (17-8-1-2) on Sunday evening at GIANT Center, as the club continued its 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health.

Checkers goaltender Ken Appleby made 16 saves to earn his league-leading fourth shutout of the season, while Justin Sourdif scored the lone goal of the game at 18:00 of the second period.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Hershey was limited to 16 shots on goal, matching its lowest shot total of the season (Nov. 3 vs. Charlotte)
• The game concluded the home portion of the regular season series with Charlotte. Hershey went 1-3-0-0 at home against the Checkers for the 2024-25 campaign; the series will resume on Jan. 10, 2025 at Charlotte.

SHOTS: HER 16, CLT 22

GOALTENDING: HER - Clay Stevenson, 21-for-22; CLT - Ken Appleby, 16-for-16

POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-7; CLT - 0-for-4

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Todd Nelson on what is needed to return to the win column:
"We've got to execute. We have to defend better. You talk about puck battles, that's just a will - we're a bit disconnected. It's been like this for the month of December...[we have] a lot of work to do in all parts of the game. We should have some good practice time this week, but we have to get better for sure because we're not scoring goals.

Nelson on the return of forward Hendrix Lapierre, loaned earlier in the afternoon to the Bears by the Washington Capitals and the potential return of Alex Limoges:
"I hope he brings some [offense], because right now we don't have a whole lot. Lappy's a really solid player at this level and I think with him coming down, he just wants to get his confidence back. He was the MVP in the playoffs last year, that speaks volumes, so he should give us a shot in the arm when he comes here. Also Alex Limoges will probably be ready next weekend. So we're getting the parts back, but now we have to get in sync and get some chemistry going with our lines. We're just not producing, we're not generating a lot, and the power play is one part of it, but 5-on-5 we're not generating much at all. We didn't have very many shots in the second or third period. So Lappy should be a guy that sparks us a bit."

NEXT GAME:

The Bears continue the 2024-25 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Providence Bruins on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for PSECU Knit Hat Night. The first 4,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bears knit hat, courtesy of PSECU. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.