Bears Hammer Admirals 3-1 on Groundhog’s Day

HERSHEY, PA – Brandon Segal celebrates his second period goal with teammates during Hershey’s 3-1 win (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)

Which is of the following is more abnormal– The Hershey Bears wearing Groundhog Day jerseys in their Sunday game against Norfolk, or Groundhog Day combining with Super Bowl Sunday?

Regardless the answer, at an early 2pm start time the Bears faced the Anaheim Ducks’ top affiliate, Norfolk Admirals. Nearly 24 hours after the Adirondack Phantoms snapped Hershey’s overall six game winning streak, the Bears extended their home win streak to nine games in a 3-1 win over the Admirals.

Julien Brouillette opened the scoring with a power play goal top-shelf over Norfolk’s John Gibson.

The Bears received eight more power plays in the game and finished the night 3-for-9.

The Admirals answered late in the frame, also via a PPG. Devante Smith-Pelly knotted the game after a late deflection in front of Philipp Grubauer.

The rest of the night was all Hershey, as Brandon Segal tallied to give his club their second lead of the night. On the man-advantage, Segal crashed the net front and stuffed a loose puck past Gibson.

The third period opened with an early 5-on-3 power play for a full two minutes. It set the stage for a Jeff Taffe goal of a cross ice feed for an early insurance marker and to round out the game’s scoring.

After a tough night in Philadelphia the night before, Hershey really showed they can bounce back after a loss that could easily throw a team of course.

The win brought the Hershey Bears two points closer in the standings to Norfolk heading into next weekend when they look to jump a few places up in the standings.

More photos from the game. All photos by Kyle Mace.

Joel Rechlicz and Mick Foley Zack Stortini yell at the Norfolk bench after their first period fight

Jeff Taffe scores in the third period, always a pretty site to see.