Penalty Kill Shines, Bears Blank Checkers

October 20, 2018

(Charlotte, NC - October 20, 2018)- The Hershey Bears closed out back-to-back contests in Charlotte with a 2-0 shutout win over the Checkers on Saturday night at Bojangles' Coliseum. Liam O'Brien scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season, Steve Whitney tallied his first goal as a member of the Bears, and Vitek Vanecek stopped 25 shots for his first shutout of the season and eighth in his AHL career. Both teams combined for a season-high 74 penalty minutes. 

O'Brien opened the scoring early on the Bears first power play chance of the night. After Patrick Brown received a hooking infraction at 2:10, the Chocolate and White went to work on the man-advantage. O'Brien drove the net and deflected a centering pass from Garrett Pilon into the net at 3:28. The Bears out shot the Checkers 10-6 in the opening stanza.

Next period, Steve Whitney added an insurance marker at 9:07 to double Hershey's lead. After a clean transition into the offensive end, Juuso Ikonen turned a puck from the wing towards the middle of the ice. Whitney's deflection beat Charlotte goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, and Ikonen earned his first AHL assist in his first AHL game on the play. Vanecek remained perfect through 40 minutes, stopping all 16 shots. 

The Bears penalty kill successfully did not allow a goal in four Checkers power plays in the third period. Hershey played six minutes of the period's first 8:15 shorthanded, and Vanecek continued to shut the door in goal. The special team units finished the night with a 1-for-8 power play success rate and a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill. Mike Sgarbossa scored into an empty net later in the frame, but only to be called back due to an offside on the play. Saturday marked the first time this season the Bears did not allow a power play goal in a single game. 

Hershey's record improved to 2-5-0-1 in the win and have points in three straight games away from Giant Center. The Hershey Bears return to the ice on Friday, October 26 for a 7:05 p.m. tilt in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton against the Penguins. Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch will have the call on the Bears Radio Network.