Game Recap: Hershey vs Belleville 11/30/19
With the Bears looking to shake off a tough 7-6 shootout loss to Providence on Wednesday night at Giant Center, the Chocolate and White’s homestand continued Saturday night against the Belleville Senators. Coached by former Bears Head Coach Troy Mann, the Senators are in fifth place in a loaded North Division with a 12-8-1 record on the season. The Bears and Senators have met only one other time this season so far, which ended in a lopsided 5-1 Bears win on October 18th in Belleville.
Saturday night’s first period shaped up to be quite similar to the one we saw from the Bears on Wednesday night as the Bears came out of the gates strong and took a 1-0 lead into the dressing room. Two big storylines came out of the first Hershey tally on the night, as Eddie Wittchow recorded his first goal in a Bears uniform, and Kody Clark (son of Wendell Clark) picked up his first pro point on a great assist.
The Bears started the second period with good energy once again, but Liam O’Brien’s game misconduct for cross checking in the early stages of the period led to an extended five-minute power play for Belleville. On the ensuing power play, after the Sens struck once, the Bears took a tough defensive zone penalty that led to a 5-on-3 man advantage for the Sens. The Senators hit pay dirt once more, taking a 2-1 lead over the Bears midway through the second frame. Later on in the period the Bears earned a 5-on-3 power play of their own, which they were unable to capitalize on despite having multiple quality chances in front of Senators’ goalie Joey Daccord.
The Bears’ penalty troubles continued into the third period with a Joe Snively penalty during the final stages of the second forcing the Bears to kill a one minute and 40 second power play to begin the final period. After some big stops from Vitek Vanecek, the Bears were able to kill it off, and began to claw their way back into the game and dominated puck possession throughout the third period. Despite outshooting Belleville 27-16, the Bears were unable to find the equalizer. After pulling Vanecek in the final two minutes of regulation, Drake Batherson pocketed an empty netter to seal the deal for the Senators’ win and the Bears’ fourth consecutive loss.
Tomorrow night is the annual Teddy Bear Toss night at Giant Center, where the Bears will look to bounce back with a win against the Hartford Wolf Pack. The game will be broadcast on abc27.
