For the second straight season, the Bears kicked off their season with a celebration of the previous one.

Fans got to reminisce about last years run to the title with an opening video recapping the entire run. Afterwards coaches, support staff and players were introduced to the home crowd, with game 6 hero Matt Strome bringing out the cup and the banner was raised.

After the celebration, a game must be played, as the Bears took on the Cleveland Monsters.

First Period

As you can expect sometimes from an opening game, which tonight was for both teams, there was a little sloppiness from both sides. Passes weren’t at the same speed or accuracy that we saw from these teams in the Eastern Conference Finals last year as the starting groups felt each other out.

It was the fourth line though of Strome-Sutter-Trineyev who brought some immediate energy that shifted the momentum the Bears way, and at exactly 5 minutes in, Vincent Iorio snapped one right through a screened Jet Greaves and got the Bears first goal of the season.

After that, the game settled into a back and forth pace, with the Bears holding more puck possession, helped in part by two power play opportunities. The Bears were unable to capitalize on those opportunities and did need a bit of help from the always sharp Hunter Shepard to keep the score at 1-0.

The Bears held off some strong transition opportunities from the Monsters and the period ended at 1-0 in the Bears favor.

Second Period

The Bears started the period almost immediately on the PK, with Mike Sgarbossa taking a tripping penalty only 12 seconds into the period. While the Bears officially killed off the penalty, the combination of tired legs and strong pressure from Cleveland saw Rocco Grimaldi snipe one past Hunter Shepard to tie the game at one.

The Monsters would then take the lead again in the aftermath of a Bears penalty kill. After another strong kill, the Monsters got possession in the Bears zone and due to a defensive breakdown down low, Roman Ahcan capitalized in front and Cleveland took a 2-1 lead.

However, Cleveland continued to put the Bears on the power play, and on their fourth chance on the man advantage, Ethen Frank was left alone and buried it from his office to tie the game at two.

Then, after Jet Greaves robbed the Bears multiple times on their fifth power play of the game, Bogan Trineyev got a chance on a two-on-two transition play and made no mistake. The young Russian ripped it past Greaves and put the Bears back on top 3-2.

Then, after Trineyev drew a penalty, it took only 12 seconds for Ethen Frank to score his second goal of the night, and his second power play goal of the night put the Bears up 4-2 with just over 2 minutes to go in the second.

That’s how this whirlwind of a period would end, but the Bears would take a late penalty that would see them start the third on the PK.

Third Period

The Bears started off well, killing the Massie penalty with relative ease and then started to take control. The first line of Vecchione-Sgarbossa-Frank got some consistent pressure and the puck sat there for Ethen Frank on a rebound in front of the net, and as Frank does he buried it for his hat trick goal. That’s the first Bears opening night hat trick since Andrew Gordon did so against the Norfolk Admirals on October 3, 2009 (thanks to Jesse Liebman from the Bears for that useful stat).

The Bears then continued to pile it on, as a scramble in front led to the puck falling on the stick of Ethan Bear and Bear got his first as a Bear to make it 6-2 Hershey.

Denton Mateychuk added one late on a Cleveland power play to make it 6-3 Hershey, then Luke Philp added a late goal for his first as a Bear to make it 7-3 Hershey with just over a minute left. It sent the home crowd happy as the Bears kicked off the 24-25 season with a win and a dominating one at that.

Hershey plays again tomorrow night against the Monsters starting at 5 p.m.

Post Game Reaction

Head Coach Todd Nelson: “We have a lot of things to improve. I didn’t like our rush defense, I thought our third D got caught too often, I thought our compete level got better through the game. I thought we were still in summer hockey mode the first period and we gave up too many chances and if Shep wasn’t sharp the game could’ve been totally different.” – On what the Bears can improve on after tonights 7-3 win.

Forward Ethen Frank: “From my perspective, just simplicity. We just tried to make it easy for each other and not pass through anybody. Just quick puck movement, good retrials and attacking the net will always work.” – On the power plays success on the last three attempts versus the first three attempts.

Defenseman Ethan Bear: “It’s been good. You know, Hardy’s a good player and he moves the puck well and I can trust him out there.” – On developing chemistry with defensive partner Hardy Häman Aktell