Bears Drop 5-4 Contest to Penguins

November 30, 2024

The Hershey Bears (14-5-3-0) fell to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (11-4-1-0) in a back-and-forth 5-4 loss on Saturday night at GIANT Center, as the club continued its 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health.

Hershey wrapped up the month of November by going 8-3-2-0 in 13 games; Ethen Frank led the team in scoring for the month with 11 points (8g, 3a) in 13 games. The Bears have played 22 games - the most of any team in the Atlantic Division - and have an eight-point lead on first place in the division.

The game marked Hershey's annual Hockey Fights Cancer game, featuring the Bears wearing lavender-accented jerseys that were auctioned off post-game. Throughout the evening, the organization shared stories of players and staff who have been impacted by cancer.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Hershey faced a 1-0 deficit just 55 seconds into the game after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Filip Kral scored; the goal marked the earliest goal allowed from the start of the game this season. Kral finished the night with four points (2g, 2a).
• Bogdan Trineyev tied the game at 1-1 at 8:13 of the first period with his fourth of the season from Riley Sutter and Matt Strome.
• Vincent Iorio tied the score at 2-2 at 16:33 of the second frame with his third of the season from Aaron Ness and Zac Funk, then assisted on Ethen Frank's goal in the third period for his fifth career two-point game.
• Chase Priskie equalized for Hershey 39 seconds into the third period with a power-play goal from Luke Philp and Mike Vecchione. Priskie's goal was his fifth with the man advantage, tied with Charlotte's Trevor Carrick for first in the league among defensemen.
• After Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took a 4-3 lead at 7:45, Ethen Frank responded nine seconds later when he beat Sergei Murashov for his league-leading 15th goal of the season. Frank's goal extended his scoring streak to four consecutive games.
• Rutger McGroarty fired the game-winner for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton past Hunter Shepard at 18:45.
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SHOTS: HER 34, WBS 23

GOALTENDING: HER - Hunter Shepard, 18-for-23; WBS - Sergei Murashov, 30-for-34

POWER PLAY: HER - 1-for-4; WBS - 2-for-4

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Todd Nelson's thoughts on Hershey's play:
"Once we got going off the start, we had a really slow start. That's a good hockey team that we played against. Once again, you can't beat yourselves, and that's what happened tonight. They get a couple breaks on their first two goals against - one goes off our hand, one goes off [Aaron Ness'] skate, but then we had three guys change on the third goal. They have almost a 2-on-0 breakaway on our goalie. That's unacceptable. Fourth goal is a power-play goal. Fifth goal, a minute and 30 seconds left and we lose our F3, and our defenseman stands up. We don't practice that. They know better. So I know it's frustrating, I know it's only our fifth regulation loss, but if we play the right way and don't beat ourselves, we'd only have two. So that's why it's disappointing, we've gotta make teams earn their points, not just give it to them. That's the disappointing thing."

Bears captain Aaron Ness on pinpointing some of the mistakes that have been made during losses:
"I don't think it's the same mistake over and over again, I just think it's the timing of the mistakes. I think hockey's a fast game - guys make mistakes all the time, right? It just seems like other teams are capitalizing at just wrong moments, like the ebb and flow of the game just isn't there. You start to get momentum there, you start to creep back in, things are going well, and then there's a penalty or a goal against or a line change or it's just some little thing. And I don't think it's one thing that it's like, 'we've got to really dial this in,' so it's just understanding moments in games, and times, and [the] clock and managing all of it, and we'll get through it. I want to say it's early, it's already a quarter of the season, it's going by fast. But we will address it and we'll get through it and we'll manage it and we'll figure it out and then when playoffs happens, it's something we'll have under our belt and we won't do it again."

NEXT GAME:

The Bears continue the 2024-25 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, when they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. Hershey returns home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 5 p.m. at GIANT Center for Hersheypark Pass Night, when all fans in attendance will receive a free 2025 Hersheypark ticket, valid for one-day admission through June 30, 2025. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.