The Hershey Bears (15-5-2-0) used a three-goal second period to get back in the win column on Tuesday night at Giant Center, scoring a 4-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers (12-7-2-1).
The contest was goal-less until 5:32 into the second period when Hendrix Lapierre drove the net and redirected a centering feed from Henrik Rybinski past goaltender Alex Lyon for his seventh of the season. Mason Morelli received credit for the secondary assist.
Sam Anas made it 2-0 Hershey when he drifted into the left wing corner and floated a backhand shot towards the Charlotte net that bounced off of Checkers defender Zach Uens and past the glove of Lyon at 11:39 for Anas’ sixth of the season. Connor McMichael and Vincent Iorio each collected an assist.
The Chocolate and White scored again 18 seconds later when Bobby Nardella’s shot from the left point sailed through a maze of bodies and found twine at 11:57, to put Hershey up 3-0 and give Nardella his third of the season. Morelli and Rybinski each earned their second assists of the night on the goal.
Anas’ and Nardella’s tallies combined for the fastest pair of goals scored by the Bears this season.
The Checkers needed just 18 seconds into the third period to get on the scoreboard, when Connor Bunnaman found the back of the net on a two-on-one shorthanded rush to cut Hershey’s lead to 3-1.
Charlotte scored again at the 7:00 mark during a scramble in front of the Hershey net that saw Riley Nash jam the puck past netminder Zach Fucale to cut Hershey’s lead to 3-2.
The Checkers pulled Lyon with about a minute and a half remaining in regulation, but Mike Vecchione made it 4-2 with an empty-net tally at 19:30 to seal the game with his seventh of the season. Shane Gersich and Mike Sgarbossa picked up assists on the goal.
“On Sunday, in that 7-3 loss, we had a pretty uncharacteristic game for us and it was important to get Zach (Fucale) back in his game,” said Nardella. “But he is always confident about his game and was rock solid and is the reason we won tonight. They were checking us all night, especially in the third, but it was a god thing we scored like we did in the second.”
Shots finished 36-23 favoring Charlotte. Both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play.
Bears Notes:
Sunday’s 7-3 loss for Hershey to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was the first time since the Bears allowed seven or more goals at home in a 7-6 shootout loss to Providence on Nov. 27, 2019. The last time Hershey allowed seven or more goals through regulation at Giant Center was an 8-7 loss to Rochester on Oct. 20, 2012.
Checkers forward Patrick Giles, a native of Chevy Chase, Maryland, played for the Hershey Jr. Bears Quebec team in 2012-13.
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