Bears strong second period gives them the edge in Allentown.

The Chocolate and White looked to get back to their winning ways Sunday afternoon as they took on their other Keystone state rival, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

The first period of play was rather lackluster for the rival Phantoms, but not so much for the visiting Bears. Hershey did everything offensively but couldn’t seem to put one behind Phantoms goaltender, Alex Lyon, through twenty minutes of play. The first ended with no score on the board, but Hershey was able to register 15 shots on goal, versus six for Lehigh Valley.

Hershey dominated once again in the second period of play, but this time they got some goals in the net. The Bears tallied three goals in the middle stanza, heading into the third and final period up 3-0. The goals came from Joe Snively, Garrett Pilon, and Brian Pinho. Brian getting his goal only five seconds before the buzzer.

The Bears achieved their three second period goals by throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the net and registering 16 more shots on goal in the second period of play. Not only did they have an offensive onslaught through the first 40 minutes, defensively the Chocolate and White would stay rock solid. Only allowing four shots on goal through this period.

Into the third frame, the Bears’ defensive stand would continue. One man leading that charge was a guy not seen at all in Hershey until this point in the season, goaltender Parker Milner. He was called up earlier in the weekend from the ECHL affiliates, the South Carolina Stingrays in place of the injured Pheonix Copley. After Vitek Vanecek went back-to-back to start the weekend, Milner would get the call in this one. Milner was sensational in this contest, stopping all 19 shots thrown his way, en route to his first career American Hockey League shutout. 

The Chocolate and White have ended 2019 on a high note. Taking two games out of this 3-in-3, and ten out of eleven games overall in December. The Bears will head into 2020 in third place in the Atlantic Division.

The Bears are in action next Friday, January, 3rd as they head on up 81 to meet with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena.

From all of us at Chocolate Hockey, have a safe and happy New Year!