HERSHEY, PA – Bears players salute the crowd at the end of their final game of the season (Matt Trust / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
It was a perfect cap to the end of a season. With a crowd of 10,964 in attendance and the Chocolate and White out of the playoffs, Hershey would go on to beat Adirondack by a score of 2-1 in the season finale of the 2013-14 season.
HERSHEY, PA – Michael Latta joins teammates after Brandon Segal’s first period goal during Hershey’s 4-1 win over Adirondack (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
It’s has been high riding for the Hershey Bears this season against the Northeast Division, entering Saturday with an a 7-3-2-1 record in 2013-14. But Cal Heeter and the Adirondack Phantoms have haunted the Bears this season with three wins in the previous four meetings.
With the Phantoms in the Eastern Conference dungeon, their playoff chances are fading away by the second. But for the Chocolate and White, all 16 games remaining entering Saturday have the significance of playoff games. Two points removed from the eighth seeded Albany Devils, Hershey sought a needed home-ice victory.
Four different Hershey goal scorers propelled them to a 4-1 victory over the Phantoms. It was the team’s 20th win on Giant Center ice this season.
Julien Brouillette and Peter LeBlanc, both seen here earlier in the season, had goals in Hershey’s win over Adirondack in the Bears first game against the Phamtoms this weekend
Perhaps the Hershey Bears are trying to make a statement to the schedule makers. Three games in 31 hours is very unusual in any league. But when the Bears played Adirondack in Philadelphia, they were going for their seventh straight victory and second in an 18 hour span. In the first game with the Phantoms, the Bears came up with a 5-3 victory Friday night in Glens Falls, beating the Phantoms to keep their winning streak alive.
Riley Gill, seen here during the Kelly Cup Finals, made his first start for Hershey Friday night
Riley Gill was summoned from the Reading Royals earlier in the week, and he received the nod to start his club’s three games in three nights stretch against the Adirondack Phantoms.
HERSHEY, PA – Brandon Manning scores the game winning goal for Adirondack during Hershey’s 2013 home opener (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
The spotlights shined at Giant Center for opening night between the Hershey Bears and Adirondack Phantoms to kick off the 2013-14 campaign. It began the final season the Phantoms will be sheltered in the ADK, as they are set to move into the new Lehigh Valley-based PPL Center next season.
Brandon Manning scored 3:22 into the sudden death overtime frame to down Hershey, 4-3.
HERSHEY, PA- Philipp Grubauer, seen here earlier in the season, again earns first star honors against the Adirondack Phantoms in a 2-1 regulation win (Kyle Mace- Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
It’s the home stretch of the 2012-13 regular season and the Hershey Bears entered Friday on the outside looking into the playoff picture. With the Norfolk Admirals, Connecticut Whale and Manchester Monarchs also in action, a pair of out of town losses combined with a Bears win could up rise Hershey back into playoff potential.
With a Connecticut 3-2 loss later followed by a Norfolk 6-1 road defeat, a bright light of opportunity shined on Hershey to make a rising dash in the standings. Rather than melting under the pressure of a must-win game, NHL Trade Deadline addition Michael Latta scored a late-game third period goal to give the Bears a 2-1 win over the Adirondack Phantoms.
HERSHEY, PA – Jeff Taffe scores in the second period during Hershey’s 5-2 victory over the Phantoms (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
Eyeing his tenth “W” in his first American Hockey League season, Philipp Grubauer drew the start for the Hershey Bears against the Adirondack Phantoms. In front of another sell out crowd of 10,856 at Giant Center, Grubauer stopped 36 shots as the Bears cruised to a comfortable 5-2 win against the Phantoms.
HERSHEY, PA – Ryan Potulny celebrates his second period goal during Hershey’s 3-0 win over Adirondack (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
When the Hershey Bears and Adirondack Phantoms last met on November 24, 2012, the Bears began heading south in the standings after dropping a 3-1 decision. It was Hershey’s sixth loss in their previous seven games in a slumping month of November.
Since then, the Bears have battled over the .500 mark in the standings and entered Saturday’s action against Adirondack with a chance to win their 25th game of the campaign. Philipp Grubauer stonewalled the Phantoms for his first AHL shutout in a 3-0 win at Giant Center.
Corporal Shawn Petterson drops the puck before tonight’s Bears-Phantoms game (Photo courtesy @PhantomsHockey)
It has been no lie the Hershey Bears have been struggling of late in November. The Bears hopped the bus to head north to Adirondack Saturday morning, while being victims of defeat in five of their last six games. The Bears fired 24 shots on net, but the power play was no where close to effective in a 3-1 loss to the Phantoms.
Joel Rechlicz fights Oliver Lauridsen in Hershey’s 6-3 win (All photos by Kyle Mace)
After a tough road trip up to St. John’s, the Bears were looking to bounce back with a three in three this weekend. Friday night was the first of that three in three as the Bears face offed against the Adirondack Phantoms. It was like any other Bears-Phantoms game: penalties and goals. This time the Bears came out on top, 6-3.