On Saturday, March 5, the Hershey Bears faced off against the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Bears started out rather slowly as they could not seem to find the offense they needed. As the game went on, it did not go well for the Bears. The final score of the game was 3-1. The Bears wound up losing.
Both teams failed to score in the first period. Eventually, Hartford’s left wing player Matt Lorito opened the scoring with 12 minutes and 15 seconds into the second period. The first goal of the game was scored on a power play. On the power play, Lorito scored his third goal of the season, one-timing a shot from the right circle just past Hershey goaltender Hunter Shepard to make the score 1-0. Defenseman Nils Lundkvist and teammate and defenseman Zac Jones had the two assists leading up to the goal.
Trailing 1-0 entering the third period, the Bears quickly scored one goal in the final period. Forward Mason Morelli won a puck battle in the middle of the rink, and centerman Mike Vecchione swooped in and sent a short pass to forward Aliaksei Protas, who snapped a quick shot from the right circle that surprised Hartford goaltender Keith Kinkaid. The goal was Protas’ fourth goal of the season.
However, that would be all the offense the Bears would find. At 4 minutes and 11 seconds into the final period, Hartford regained the lead. After a collision, Hershey’s Garrett Pilon laid at center ice injured, and the Wolf Pack managed to get the puck into the offensive zone. With Pilon attempting to get to his skates, Hartford’s Tanner Fritz banked a shot off a Hershey defender and past Shepard to make it 2-1 Wolf Pack.
A few minutes later at 7 minutes and 19 seconds of the third, center Austin Rueschhoff would extend the Hartford lead to 3-1. His power play goal came off a rebound, and Anthony Greco assisted, as did Lundkvist, who added his third helper of the night.
Hershey went 0-for-3 on the power play while Hartford was 2-for-7. Shots favored the Wolf Pack, 29-25.
The Bears return to action on day? March 13 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The puck drops at Giant Center at 5 p.m. Ticket information is available at HersheyBears.com.
