It was a rainy Sunday afternoon as Bear Nation rolled into Giant Center as Hershey prepped for their rematch with the visiting Texas Stars. The Bears took Saturday’s game 2-1, with an impressive last thirty minutes, arguably the best the Bears have played so far in the new season.
It was another impressive performance from Cal Petersen in net, saving 24 of 25 shots he faced, but credit to the Bears as a unit as well. Hershey held the veteran laden Stars to only four shots in the third period and as Derek King said in his postgame speech to the locker room, the Bears wore the Stars down.
Offensively, another two assists for Andrew Cristall, including a beauty of a pass to find Bogdan Trineyev on a breakaway for the game winner, led the Bears. Cristall has five points through the first three games, all assists. His hockey IQ has always been a strength of his, and he’s still been able to get the puck to teammates in good situations, even without Ilya Protas.
That’s the type of mentally tough performance that will do this group well through a long season and in what looks like a very tough Atlantic Division.
Two changes in both the forward lines and defense pairs for the Bears this afternoon compared to yesterday night. On offense, Joey Anderson and Theodor Niederbach come into the lineup, with Anderson making his season debut. They replace Alex Suzdalev and Terik Parascak.
On defense, Cam Allen comes back into the main six, giving veteran Justin Holl a rest. Jon McDonald also comes in for his season debut, replacing David Gucciardi on the left side.
In net, fresh back from injury, Mitch Gibson makes his season debut, getting the start.
First Period
It looked like early on the first period today was going to be much like the first period from last night. However, that theory would change quick thanks to the Bears penalty kill.
The hard work of Spencer Smallman and Bogdan Trineyev paid off, as Smallman put a perfect drop pass onto the stick of Trineyev who wired it past Texas goalie Arno Tiefensee to make 1-0 Hershey only 5:22 into the game.
Hershey’s PK has been excellent to start the season, killing penalties at an 89% clip so far and going a perfect 4-4 tonight.
That hot start would be the harbinger of how this game would go for Hershey. It would be back and forth again through most of the period, but a 48-second stretch would blow this game wide open for the Bears and they would not give it back to the Stars.
Jonny Brodzinski would score twice in those 48 seconds to extend the Bears lead to 3-0. His first one would come off a rebound from a point shot by Jacob MacDonald, following up his teammates shot perfectly to make it 2-0. Brodzinski would then be left all alone in front for his second, being in the perfect spot for Andrew Cristall to find him after Cristall forced a turnover behind the net, finding Brodzinski to make it 3-0 Bears.
Second Period
The second would be the most even period of the night, with Texas having a few chances on the power play that kept them in the game. While Hershey would hold steady on the PK, it would be after a moment of high pressure from the Bears that would see Texas capitalize.
Hershey would hold the puck for what I would say was around 1:45 of possession, getting multiple chances against Brandon Halvorsen. Yes, Halvorsen was put into the game to start the second, with Texas pulling their starter after just one period. It would give the Stars some giddy-up, and Halvorsen’s ability to play the puck gave Texas some of their better opportunities this game, especially with the long change during the second period.
Halvorsen would both stand tall, and Hershey would admittedly miss a few opportunities gifted to them, during that stretch and as it happens in hockey a lot, when you don’t capitalize the other team usually follows with a goal.
It would be Jack Anderson who had the seeing-eye shot to beat Mitch Gibson, who was excellent again tonight, putting it perfectly in the top right corner to get Texas on the board.
Hershey would hold firm through the rest of the period though and would head into second intermission with a 3-1 lead.
Third Period
Hershey would put their foot on the throat of Texas during the final frame. Only 4:16 into the period, Andrew Cristall would put an inch perfect pass onto the stick of Spencer Smallman, who was left wide open in front of the net. Smallman would just get it by the glove of Halvorsen, making it 4-1 Bears and putting the Bears in the drivers seat.
That goal not only secured Smallman’s first multi-point game of the season, it also secured Cristall’s third straight multi-assist game of the year. The second-year winger would end up with three assists on the night, pushing his total on the year to eight, giving him eight points through the first four games.
Cristall has been seeing the ice differently the last three games and each game has added another highlight reel assist to his game tape. His vision has taken another step forward from very good to elite in the early part of the season and his playmaking ability from the wing will make it even easier for Brodzinski and Dunne to get on the scoresheet.
Hershey would add two more in the final frame. The Bears would finally break through on the man advantage to make it 5-1, as a shot from the slot from Cristall would deflect off Trineyev in front, giving Trineyev his second of the game. Then Swedish rookie Theodor Niederbach, added back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch last night, would score his first of his AHL career to put the cherry on top of this one, making it 6-1 Hershey.
Joe’s Thoughts
Now do you believe this is a different group compared to last year? After a tough 1-2-1 start through the first two weeks last year, which included two 5-1 losses, the Bears have started this season flying. While its was a disappointing 5-2 loss on opening night, I said then the final score didn’t tell the story of the game. I’m glad the last three performances have proved me right so far.
And it is indeed early in the season, but if you cannot see that this group is playing faster, more physical and more confident much earlier in the season, then I have to say you have blinders on. The veteran additions of Dunne, Brodzinski and MacDonald have already done wonders off the ice and the rookies in Sikora, Niederbach and Lakovic have already proven to be effective players as well.
The big thing for me through the first four games is that the goaltending does not look as much of a concern as we were worried it could be at the start of the year. Petersen has looked good in his two starts, and a strong Sunday performance each from Bjorklund and Gibson should increase confidence in the Bears current goalie group.
It’s on to a back to back with Providence next weekend, and while the Bruins have had the Bears number the last two years, this is not the same Providence group. A coaching staff overhaul plus a changing of the guard from the veterans group that led them the last few years means you can see this as a retool year in Rhode Island. That does not mean the Bears can underestimate them. However, they have a chance to keep the good feelings going. If they can do that, it will tell us how serious of a team this is.
Postgame Reactions
Derek King: https://youtu.be/HV52BNFjyv0?si=NOg-jWcX_sAFJKOl
Jonny Brodzinski: https://youtu.be/EhnDWAN9ad0?si=npGKs8OZqZdSw619
Spencer Smallman: https://youtu.be/jw3RXL7jY30?si=eZxin-P6M6CtJO3J
