Bears Blanked by Phantoms, 1-0

December 7, 2018

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms scored the game's first goal for only the seventh time this season, and blanked the Hershey Bears by a 1-0 final on Friday night at the PPL Center. The loss marked the Bears eighth consecutive regular season loss in Allentown dating back to April 2017.

The game's only goal came courtesy of Connor Bunnaman's third tally of the season. After an initial shot from David Kase was stopped by Bears goaltender Vitek Vanecek, Bunnaman cleaned up the loose rebound in the blue paint to give his club the 1-0 lead at 16:51 of the opening stanza. Shots after 20 minutes were even at 12-12, and at second intermission, Hershey pulled ahead 19-17. In the third period, Hershey successfully killed a lengthy 5-on-3 power play and later, a 4:00 double minor for slashing and unsportsmanlike contact issued to Mike Sgarossa. Despite a successful 5-for-5 night on the penalty kill, the Chocolate and White were unable to find an equalizer.

Phantoms goaltender Carter Hart made 26 saves to backstop his first professional shutout. Vanecek stopped 20 of 21 and saw his three-game winning streak come to an end, and suffered his first loss since Oct. 26 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Hershey's record falls to 10-13-0-1 in the defeat.

The Hershey Bears return to action tomorrow with a 7 p.m. tilt at Giant Center against the Hartford Wolf Pack. It's Advance Auto Parts Car Flag Night. The first 5,000 fans will receive a car flag, courtesy of Advance Auto Parts. Ticket information is available online at HersheyBears.com.