Bears Trick Phantoms, 4-1
October 30, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) – Mike Sgarbossa scored twice and Mike Vecchione put up three points as the Hershey Bears (3-2-2-0) marched to a 4-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2-4-1-0) on Sunday evening at GIANT Center. The victory snapped a four-game winless skid (0-2-2-0) while simultaneously extending Hershey’s season-opening home point streak to four games (3-0-1-0).
Sgarbossa opened the scoring just 43 seconds into the game on Hershey’s first shot of the contest when he took a pass from Vecchione and snapped the puck past Samuel Ersson for his first goal of the season. Sam Anas collected the secondary assist.
The trio connected again for a power-play goal at 12:01 to make it 2-0 when Anas’ initial shot caromed over to Vecchione at the left circle. Vecchione’s shot rebounded off the pads of Ersson before Sgarbossa knocked in his second of the evening.
The Phantoms responded with a power-play goal of their own at 15:30 when Jackson Cates grabbed an Olle Lycksell rebound off the pads of Zach Fucale and snapped the puck behind the falling netminder.
Bobby Nardella put the Bears up by a pair with his first of the season at 2:26 of the third period as he received a Hendrix Lapierre pass in the high slot and ripped a shot into the top corner of the net behind a screened Ersson to make it 3-1. Mason Morelli picked up a secondary assist.
The Bears capped the scoring with another power-play goal at 7:34, when Nardella fed a stretch pass through the neutral zone and connected with Vecchione at the Lehigh Valley blue line; the forward hustled into the offensive zone and beat Ersson to the glove side. Pilon picked up the secondary helper.
Shots finished 34-23 favoring the Bears. Fucale finished the night 22-for-23 for the Bears, while Ersson was 30-for-34. Hershey was 2-for-5 on the power play, while Lehigh Valley went 1-for-3.
Hershey continues the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, when the Bears visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6:05 p.m., before returning home to GIANT Center to host the Penguins on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.
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