Bears Score 3-2 Road Victory in Providence
October 20, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Providence, RI) - The Hershey Bears (2-1-0-0) hung on for a gritty 3-2 win over the Providence Bruins (1-2-0-1) on Friday night at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. The victory gave the Chocolate and White its first win at Providence since Jan. 25, 2020, snapping a seven-game (0-6-0-1) winless road skid against the Bruins.
Providence opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 7:58 of the first period when Luke Toporowski fired the puck through the legs of a Bears defender to beat Hunter Shepard to the blocker side on the Bruins' first shot of the contest.
Mike Vecchione tied the game with a power-play goal for Hershey at 5:19 of the second when he deflected Chase Priskie's shot from the point past Brandon Bussi for his second tally of the season; Mike Sgarbossa earned the secondary assist.
The Bears took a 2-1 lead in the final minute of the middle frame when Washington Capitals prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko banged home Pierrick Dubé's rebound from the left flank at 19:34 for his first American Hockey League goal, with Joe Snively adding a secondary helper.
Early in the third period the Bears took a 3-1 lead when Vecchione worked the puck from the right circle across to Ethen Frank, who shoveled the puck to the net, deflecting off the skate of Sgarbossa, who tallied his second of the season at 1:10. While Providence attempted to challenge the goal and argue the puck had been kicked in, the video review determined no distinct kicking motion directed the puck into the net, and the goal was upheld.
An additional video review was necessary at 5:16 to definitively determine if the puck had crossed the goal line of Shepard, but the review was inconclusive, and Hershey remained ahead by two goals.
The Bruins pulled to within one at 14:15 when Dan Renouf potted an even-strength goal for Providence, trimming Hershey's lead to 3-2.
Shots finished 27-16 in favor of the Bears. Shepard picked up his first win of the season with a 14-for-16 performance; Bussi went 24-for-27 in net in the loss for Providence. Hershey was 1-for-5 on the power play; the Bruins went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue their road trip when they face the Providence Bruins at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 7:05 p.m. Hershey is back on home ice when it hosts the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at GIANT Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. for PNC Bank Magnet Schedule Night, when the first 8,000 fans in attendance will receive a 2023-24 season magnet schedule, courtesy of PNC Bank. Purchase tickets for the game.
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