Hershey Splits Back-to-Back with Manchester, Clinches Playoff Spot in Bridgeport
HERSHEY, PA – Bears players celebrate Tim Kennedy’s first period goal Saturday night against the Manchester Monarchs. Hershey would win the game 6-3, a day before clinching a playoff spot (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
It wasn’t a question of if, but when. After missing the post season last year, the Hershey Bears clinched a playoff spot on Sunday afternoon. The Bears battled back to beat Bridgeport 4-3, while Springfield lost, assuring the Bears of a postseason spot.
Jim O’Brien scored the game winner with two and a half minutes left to break a 3-3 tie. The win on Sunday and on Saturday were particularly significant after a sub-par performance on Friday, when the Bears lost to conference leading Manchester 6-3 at home.
Hershey bounced back with a big offense effort on Saturday, lead by Dustin Gazley’s two goals in beating the Monarchs 6-2. That was followed by the playoff clincher on Sunday in Bridgeport.
The Bears now find themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference, trailing Manchester by just three points. Manchester still has a game in hand on the Bears, so the final three weeks of the regular season will still have great meaning as Hershey looks to try and get home ice advantage for the playoffs, as well as win the East Division for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Hershey will start the first of those final games on Wednesday night at home against Worcester. That will be followed by five straight on the road starting Friday April 3 and Saturday April 4 in Norfolk. Both games will be seen live on abc27.2 RTV.
Hershey then travels to St John’s for two games, one more back at Lehigh Valley before finishing up at Giant Center.
There are countless playoff scenarios, but if the season were to end today, the Bears would open with Worcester in a best of five series.
Photos from Friday and Saturday’s games. All photos by Kyle Mace
Friday, March 27th, 2015 (6-3 loss to Manchester)
Liam O’Brien squares up with Josh Gratton for a fight
Andre Burakovsky sends a pass cross ice
Capitals GM Brian MacLellan was in attendance for the game
Casual splits from Philipp Grubauer
Steve Oleksy shares a laugh with Brian O’Neill
Dmitry Orlov waits for the puck
Nate Schmidt takes a shot on net
Jim O’Brien tips in his first of two goals
#SquadGoals
Garrett Mitchell chirps with Monarchs tough guy Paul Bissonnette
Monarchs put one on the board
O’Brien scores his second
Orlov is joined by Casey Wellman
Schmidt watches Chandler Stephenson’s shorthanded goal
Smiles all around
Manchester scores their fifth and sixth goals on the night.
Saturday, March 28th, 2015 (6-2 win over Manchester)
Chris Conner celebrates Tim Kennedy’s first period goal
Dustin Gazley scores his first of the game
And a scrum ensues
Kris Newbury waves his arms in an effort to pump up the Hershey crowd even more
Philipp Grubauer makes a save in the first
Chris Brown extends the Bears lead
Garrett Mitchell sends one past Jean-Francois Berube
Mitchy celebrates…
And so do Bears fans.
Paul Bissonnette hits Mitchell after the whistle
Then is given a ten minute misconduct
“But he did it!”
Gazley scores his second
#PartyHard
Chris Brown high fives Gazley so hard his glove comes off. Now that’s hard partying
Steve Oleksy clears the puck
Chandler Stephenson crashes the net
Jim O’Brien scores and is joined by Kris Newbury
Bissonnette starts a scrum and sends Casey Wellman to the ground
Then a stare down between Bissonnette and Andre Burakovsky
Patrik Bartosak skates out of his net to look down at Grubauer during the scrum
Grubauer is all “lol k brah”.
Connor Carrick tries to get directions to a good restaurant in Manchester from their bench.
Carrick smiles as he heads back to the locker room
Grubauer shoots the puck down ice at Bartosak after the horn sounds
Grubi has to be “held back” by Nate Schmidt
Your number two and one stars of the game: Philipp Grubauer and Dustin Gazley