If you were privy to the hard work that veteran Dalton Smith puts in, and how well-liked he is as a member of the Bears team, consider yourself informed now. 

Hershey signed Smith on October 15th for the remainder of the season, and he punched in his first goal of the season with 16:18 remaining in the second period of the Bears’ 4-0 win over Lehigh Valley last Sunday.

The lead went from 2-0 to 3-0, a key turning point in the game to secure the comfortable win for Hershey. 

“That’s a nice shot, that’s a big goal too, you know. Two goals in hockey is not that much, but when you get three goals, there’s a little bit of a cushion, you know, maybe you play a little bit less stressed,” said Hendrix Lapierre. “As I said, just an honest person, works hard, we’re all really happy for him.”

“Here’s the thing, he’s a good character guy in the room. He does a lot of the heavy lifting, he works his tail off, I don’t have to worry about him systematically. If I need him on the penalty kill, he’s there for us,” said Head Coach Todd Nelson. “It was good to see him get rewarded tonight, all his hard work has paid off. He’s a veteran guy, he’s been around, it still feels good to score a goal. I was glad to see he got first star tonight, and he also got the Bears head. Well deserved.”

Smith scored one goal and added four assists to his season with the Colorado Eagles last year, and has scored 34 goals total in his AHL career, which spans back to the 2012-13 season. But, Sunday’s goal marks his first in the Chocolate and White, which makes it extra sweet for Smith to be back and scoring on the ice.

“It’s special. This is a great organization, so many great players and amazing fans. So to get that first one is special,” said Smith. “Heck of a play by (Ethan Bear), I just tried to get the shot through and it went in and it was awesome.”

Smith and the Bears are back on the ice on Wednesday night, facing the Belleville Senators at GIANT Center in Hershey. It’s a precursor to a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday in Cleveland, facing the Monsters.