Hershey Drops 2-1 Rematch to Syracuse in Chocolate Town

HERSHEY, PA – Joel Rechlicz waves to the crowd after his second period fight in his return to the Hershey Bears during the Bears 2-1 loss to Syracuse (Tim Stough – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)

Saturday night the Hershey Bears re-matched the Syracuse Crunch at Giant Center in the final meeting of the campaign between the two sides. Opening night only rolls around once every hockey season when newer faces make their very first impression to the Hershey faithful. However in the first home game ensuing a busy trade deadline, this game had the feel of a second home opener with all the new faces.

Nate Schmidt, Michael Latta, and Dane Byers all made their Giant Center debut. Also returning to the lineup was the fan favorite enforcer, Joel Rechlicz. Rechlicz last played for Hershey last season totaling 267 penalty minutes and was not resigned during the off season. A player swap last week involving Matt Clackson and the Portland Pirates brings Rechlicz back to Hershey for his third season.

In the Bears’ second home opener of the season, it was a similar result to their first on October 20. Joey Crabb scored Hershey’s lone tally and fell to the Syracuse Crunch by a 2-1 count.

The new look Bears showed their physical presence immediately, as Michael Latta wasted little time for his first scrap in the Chocolate and White. After a thunderous hit along the neutral zone boards, Latta fought Syracuse’s Mike Angelidis and drew the Bears’ first man-advantage.

The physical play continued throughout the entire frame, along with the power play chances. The Bears went 0-for-3 on the man-advantage in the opening 20 minutes and struggled to maintain possession in the offensive end.

With 9:53 left in the first, the Crunch drew first blood in Chocolate Town. Right as their first power play opportunity of the night expired, Jean-Philippe Cote loaded and blasted a slap shot to the roof of the net to give his club a 1-0 lead.

The Crunch’s slim, one-goal advantage held for the remainder of the period and entered intermission on top. Shots at intermission were 9-6 in favor of Tampa Bay’s top affiliate.

Riku Helenius held his early shutout bid intact until the final minute of the second period, when Joey Crabb cashed in for Hershey. Jeff Taffe stormed the goal crease and tried a stuff attempt on frame. After Helenius went down to the ice, a loose puck sat on the blue paint in Crabb’s neighborhood. He potted his second goal as a Bear to send a sellout Giant Center crowd into a frenzy with 54.4 seconds remaining on the clock. Nate Schmidt received credit for the secondary assist, being his first point with Hershey.

But quickly into the third period, the Crunch capitalized after numerous point-blank chances at Dany Sabourin. With 16:10 left in regulation, Ondrej Palat one-timed a perfect pass from Tanner Richard to again put Hershey into a deficit. Palat’s goal was the fatal blow to the Bears, as they would not recover and dropped a 2-1 decision to Syracuse.

Out of town the Norfolk Admirals beat the Binghamton Senators, 3-0 to tie Hershey in points.

More photos from the game:

Joel Rechlicz drops Eric Neilson

Dmitry Orlov lays down a huge hit