Timely Goals and Jet Greaves Help Cleveland Force Game 5 Saturday Night Against Bears
Sometimes, all good things must come to an end. For Hershey, what came to an end tonight was their seven game playoff win streak, which went back to Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Semis against Lehigh Valley.
For the first time in this series, the Bears fell behind first. Josh Dunne scored only 2:10 into the first period after he controlled the puck down low and held off Jake Massie to get short side. He finished his shot five hole, and it got past Shepard to put the Monsters up 1-0.
It could have gotten worse for the Bears from there. Two first period penalties, a Logan Day trip and a Vincent Iorio high stick saw the Monsters power play generate numerous chances. But on both occasions the Bears penalty kill stood tall, thanks to a couple timely saves from Hunter Shepard.
They would get rewarded as well. After Cleveland took a penalty of their own with just under 3 minutes left to go in the first, the Bears capitalized on their first power play opportunity. Ethen Frank scored in his seventh straight game, blasting one home from the left circle past Greaves and tied up the game.
The score stayed tied for the rest of the period, and the start of the second as well, but what very well ended up the difference maker in this game was Cleveland’s second goal off a broken play.
After a shot block by Logan Day fell right back to the stick of Monsters forward Roman Ahcan, Ahcan caught both Day and Hunter Shepard off guard with a quick snapshot that barely beat Shepard glove side. The second period saw the Monsters continue to send wave after wave of rushes against Hershey, but Shepard and the Bears defense stood tall and kept the Bears in it once again.
The Bears best chance came on a broken play of their own. Late in the second, the fourth line was buzzing and the puck fluttered behind Jet Greaves and it seemed set on a plate for Riley Sutter to bury it to tie the game for Hershey. But a Cleveland defender was able to get their stick on Sutter and the puck ended up getting away from the Bears, with the Bears heading into the second intermission down 2-1.
In the third though the Bears came out flying, looking the best they had all game. Two minutes in, Ethen Frank nearly had his second goal of the night, and it was so close that it even fooled many of the patrons watching the game back at the Bears Den.
In fact, the Bears dominated the first two minutes so heavily, that Cleveland used their timeout before the seventeen minute mark of the third.
That timeout had its desired effect for Cleveland’s coaching staff though. Two and a half minutes after the timeout, Cleveland capitalized on the rush. Jake Gaudet sniped one past Shepard, with the puck going off the inside of the post and in, giving the Monsters a 3-1 lead.
The Bears would not go away though. Just 45 seconds and a referee review later, Garrett Roe stuffed one home bringing the Bears back within one.
From there the Bears sent wave after wave at Jet Greaves, nearly breaking through on multiple opportunities.
The best Bears opportunity came with 4 seconds left, as Ivan Miroshnichenko wired a shot from the left circle that hit the post and stayed out, ending the game and forcing a game five Saturday night.
The biggest question for the Bears currently might not be their play- it is rather the injury bug that has suddenly hit the team. Three players from Tuesday night were scratched due to injury, with Pierrick Dube, Aaron Ness and Henrik Rybinski all missing game four.
The seriousness of all three is unknown, but regarding Dube, it appeared he took a puck to the face in game three. He did return for a while wearing a full cage, before being ruled out. What does that mean going forward for game five? We will wait for coach Nelson to inform us but after missing game four it seems Dube would need to be cleared by the Bears medical staff.
The bigger issue for the Bears though is the status of the player they lost tonight. Ethen Frank did not play the last eight minutes of the game with an undisclosed injury. At the time of posting, we do not have any more information on Frank.
However, the Bears are still only a win away from the Calder Cup Finals and will look to do their usual bounce back game Saturday night. Chocolate Hockey will be in the building, so if you’re headed to Cleveland tell us hello, and let’s all root on for a Bears win!
