Six days after the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers came through Chocolatetown for NHL preseason action, the Hershey Bears made their return to Giant Center ice this afternoon with their last preseason game of the year.
Hershey fell 4-1 last night to Lehigh Valley with a mostly ECHL-laden lineup. In fact, the six defensemen that played yesterday are all likely to be on South Carolina or someone else’s opening night roster than Hershey’s. The most concerning issue was the injury to Mitch Gibson, which saw him leave the game late in the second period. Derek King said postgame that it was precautionary, but that is something to keep an eye on.
In terms of the final roster, Washington made their last cuts this morning. That saw a whole host of players come down and hit the Bears roster.
All the players on the left side of the graphic are already Hershey Bears and are on the roster. Cal Petersen was also sent to Hershey after ending his PTO with the Capitals. It will be interesting to see what happens with Petersen. Is his possible future with the organization entirely dependent on if Clay Stevenson clears waivers or could he also have a spot if Mitch Gibson’s injury is serious?
Four players will have to clear waivers to make it to Hershey. The two names to watch are Jonny Brodzinski and Clay Stevenson. Stevenson will obviously take the spot of Hershey’s number one goaltender if he clears, while Brodzinski would likely slot in as Hershey’s number one center if he clears. Spencer Smallman and Louie Belpedio are expected to have no issues clearing and will be Bears. We will hear about these decisions at 2 p.m. tomorrow to see if it’s confirmed these four all clear.
It was another ECHL-heavy lineup tonight, but there’s a little more AHL action for the Bears today. Alex Suzdalev, Tyler Kopff, Sam Bitten, Petr Sikora, Grant Cruikshank and Matt Strome all started, along with Jon McDonald on defense, making up a larger contingent of likely Hershey players. Dalton Smith also slotted in as the extra skater, bringing the total of likely Bears up to eight for tonight.
First Period
Wilkes-Barre had a bit more of their regulars playing tonight, especially from their projected top six. Avery Hayes, Tanner Howe and Hugh McGing made up a fairly dynamic first line for an AHL preseason game and it showed. The Penguins had far more of the chances and far more puck control during the first, as their more dynamic top six took Hershey to task.
Wilkes-Barre would tally three goals in the first 10:30 minutes of the first period and looked in cruise control. To give some credit to this group of mostly depth and ECHL players for Hershey, they didn’t give up. In fact it would be a fight from Rhett Parsons that seemed to get the energy going on the Hershey bench again.
Only a minute and a half after that fight, Alex Suzdalev would see his shot take a deflection off a Penguin and beat Taylor Gauthier in goal to get Hershey on the board and make it 3-1 Penguins.
Second Period
The second period felt like a slog. For about the first ten minutes of the middle frame, it seemed like the game was stuck in neutral. No one could really garner any real chances and there was a lot of dump and chase hockey. Which is to be expected in preseason hockey.
And it would take a preseason hockey play to get the puck back in the net. A pretty bad miscommunication from the Bears saw Tiernan Shoudy get the puck right in the wheelhouse and he buried it past Petersen to make it 4-1 Penguins.
Unlike in the first, the Bears had no response. Wilkes-Barre dominated the rest of the period and a pretty passing play from Wilkes-Barre made art 5-1 Penguins in no time flat. The higher level talent showed again, as Wilkes-Barre was able to make mincemeat of the Bears in the offensive zone. Not much can be taken from this game, but it was hard to watch.
Third Period
Hershey made a goalie change to kick off the third. Garin Bjorklund came in for Cal Petersen and would get the whole period.
The goalie change maybe inspired a little life in the Bears for the third. It was by far and away their best period and it showed on the stat sheet.
Hershey would strike less than five minutes into the third, with Alex Suzdalev getting his second of the game. While Suzdalev would have the finish, the goal would be created by youngster Petr Sikora. Sikora, a 20-year-old, 2024 6th round drafty pick by the Capitals, was the only offensive player, along with Suzdalev, who was really driving play.
Hershey would snag a third late in the period, with Jeremie Biakabutuku ripping a laser from the point to make it 5-3 Penguins. Suzdalev would grab an assist on this goal, giving him a three-point night.
Wilkes-Barre would add on an empty netter, ending the game at 6-3.
Postgame Comments
Head Coach Derek King: https://youtu.be/o17Y4zc9T5g?si=zz4F9rPnW5Dv7Tkk
Alex Suzdalev: https://youtu.be/uIeTQ8budPo?si=95xcgEGGVjPoXcqW
