The Hershey Bears (11-4-1-0) opened their four-game road trip with a 6-3 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (6-5-2-1) on Saturday night at PPL Center, as the club continued its 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health.
Rookie forward Zac Funk netted his first pro points in the second period, first assisting on a goal by Pierrick Dube, then burying his first pro goal midway through the stanza to make it 3-1.
Ethan Bear scored the game-winner for the Bears after Lehigh Valley scored twice in the third period to erase Hershey's initial 3-1 lead.
The Bears improved to 6-0-0-0 on the road this season with the win.
NOTABLES:
SHOTS: HER 39, LV 27
GOALTENDING: HER - Hunter Shepard, 24-for-27; LV - Eetu Makiniemi, 15-for-18; Cal Petersen (L), 18-for-20
POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-3; LV - 0-for-1
THEY SAID IT:
"The guys responded - we came here, we were ready to play from the drop of the puck. We were winning loose puck battles. That's Bears hockey. It wasn't a perfect game, obviously, we were up 3-1 and we let that lead slip away from us. We had to battle right to the end, but the guys stuck with it. Everybody in the lineup knew that there was a sense of urgency. They understood that some guys had to sit out, but the other guys that played tonight could have been the ones sitting out as well, so they took it to heart, and I thought everybody played a really strong game for us." - Head coach Todd Nelson on his team's play
"Well, I think it's the result of repetitions. He's played a couple games in a row now, right? Anytime when you're a young guy and you play multiple games in a row, you get that confidence, and he's been on the cusp of getting those points. He had some really good looks last game, he fed the puck in the slot a couple times and we just didn't finish then. You could see he was on the verge of breaking out offensively and hopefully this gives him a lot of confidence." - Nelson on Zac Funk getting his first pro assist and goal
"He just played really well defensively and I thought he jumped up into the play when it was necessary and created some offense for us. He had some good looks, and he could have had a couple of goals tonight. I thought he was really strong for us tonight, and that's what we expect out of him." - Nelson on the play of Nicky Leivermann
"It feels unbelievable. I couldn't have done it without my linemates, [Vecchione] and [Rybinski]. So a lot of credit goes out to them. We played well tonight, we responded. So I'm happy to get the two standings points and the other two points as well. I'm glad I could contribute in different ways tonight. I think we look at this game as a reset and I think a lot of guys came together tonight. We knew we had to play well after last night, so I think we did our job out there and obviously we had a good game." - Zac Funk on getting his first pro points tonight while contributing to an important win
"I thought it was a really good response. It's a long season and stuff like [last night's loss] is going to happen. You're going to lose games where you kind of have to have a bit of a wake-up call and get back on the right track and do the right things. And I think we largely did that from start to finish. We needed a 60-minute game, and I thought for the most part we brought that tonight." - Aaron Ness on the team responding to Friday's home loss
NEXT GAME:
The Bears continue the 2024-25 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, when they visit the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Hershey returns home to face the Laval Rocket on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for Canteen Vending Turkey Shoot Night. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
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