Bears Score Six, Blowout Hartford

December 8, 2018

Ilya Samsonov earned his first win in nearly a month, and the Hershey Bears explode for six goals in a 6-3 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday night at Giant Center. 

The Wolf Pack tallied first, and the Bears responded to even the score before the opening stanza expired. After Bobby Butler scored for Hartford at 3:00, Mike Sgarbossa tied the game at 13:20. A Nathan Walker hit the goal post, and the loose puck sat in the low-slot for Sgarbossa to tap into an open net. Shots after 20 minutes were 17-12 Hershey.

Next period, the Chocolate and White grabbed a 2-1 lead on Maximilian Kammerer's first AHL goal. After a nifty play to keep the puck alive in the offensive zone, Kammerer fed Colby Williams and raced into the slot. On the return pass from Williams, Kammerer deflected a quick shot past Wolf Pack goaltender Alexandar Georgiev at 3:27. Vinni Lettieri scored his fourth goal of the season at 10:31 for Hartford, but the Bears once again responded later in the period.

At 17:11, Liam O'Brien scored on the power play following a crisp feed across the ice from Williams. The power play goal put Hershey on top 3-2 after 40 minutes with a 28-26 lead in shots. The Bears blew the door open with three more goals in the third period, including O'Brien's second of the night at 6:30 to double Hershey's lead to 4-2. 

Midway through the third, Garrett Pilon used open ice on a 4-on-4 to his advantage and scored his first professional goal at 10:13. Pilon broke to the slot and fired a quick snipe into the cage to put the Bears in front 5-2. Sgarbossa scored his second goal of the night only 1:25 later on the deflection at the net front for his team-leading 11th tally of the season. The Wolf Pack cut their deficit back to three after Alex Kile's first goal of the season at 15:27 to complete the 6-3 final.

Williams earned a career high three assist, three point night. Twelve different Bears also hit the score sheet in the offensive explosion. Samsonov's win in net was his first since Nov. 10 against the Springfield Thunderbirds. 

The Bears return to the ice Sunday, December 9 at Giant Center to close out their weekend against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It's Pennsylvania Lottery Night and Dietz & Watson Dollar Dog Night. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. Ticket information is available online at HersheyBears.com.