The Hershey Bears (28-6-0-0) opened 2024 with a 4-1 victory over the Charlotte Checkers (16-12-3-0) on Wednesday night at GIANT Center to earn their ninth consecutive win, matching a season-high.
Hershey's two nine-game win streaks (Nov. 15 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - Dec. 9 vs. Cleveland; Dec. 13 vs. Providence - present) represent the longest win streak of any AHL club this season; the team is 18-1-0-0 in its last 19 games. Hershey improved to 3-1-0-0 against Charlotte in head-to-head action in the 2023-24 campaign.
In addition to their 28 wins so far, the Bears' 56 points in the standings is also the most by the club through its first 34 games of any season in its 86-year history of play in the AHL.
Charlotte took an early 1-0 lead after Justin Sourdif redirected a shot from the left point by Dennis Cesana past Clay Stevenson at 2:25.
The Bears answered a little over four and a half minutes later with a power-play goal, as Alex Limoges' shot rang off the post of Spencer Knight, but after a brief scramble in front of the Checkers' net, Mike Vecchione stuffed his ninth of the season into the cage at 6:58. Pierrick Dube received credit for the secondary assist.
Henrik Rybinski pulled Hershey ahead 2-1 with a shorthanded goal at 10:05 of the second frame. The sophomore forward broke into the offensive zone as Jimmy Huntington crisscrossed the puck over to Aaron Ness at the right circle, who threaded a pass for Rybinski to put past Knight.
Dube added to his team-leading goal total with his 18th of the season at 16:04 when Lucas Johansen sent the puck down the left wall to Huntington, who turned back at the circle and found Dube in the slot, and the forward snapped a shot into the upper-left corner of the net.
Dube finished the scoring in the third when he skated in on Knight on a breakaway, only to see his shot strike the glass and bounce back over the net, where it banked in off the goalie's right leg and into the cage at 17:00 for Dube's second of the evening and his 19th of the season, tying him with Chicago Wolves forward Rocco Grimaldi for the league lead.
Shots finished 29-27 in favor of the Checkers. Stevenson put up a 28-for-29 effort to get his 13th victory of the season, the most among rookie netminders; Knight took the loss for Charlotte with a 23-for-27 effort. Hershey went 1-for-4 on the power play; the Checkers went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Hartford Wolf Pack at GIANT Center on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. as we celebrate Halfway to Summer with Corona & Modelo Hawaiian Shirt Night. The first 5,000 fans 21-and-over will receive a Bears Hawaiian shirt, courtesy of Corona and Modelo. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
vs
