Ethen Frank led the way with his third career hat trick and fourth career four-point night as the Hershey Bears (49-12-0-5) exploded for a 7-2 victory over the Iowa Wild (24-35-4-2) on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Hershey's seven goals matched a season-high for goals in a game. With the win, the Bears have reduced their Magic Number for the American Hockey League's Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for first place in the league to five points.
Frank opened the scoring early into the contest when he buried a Pierrick Dube rebound past Jesper Wallstedt at 4:20 of the first period for his 26th of the season. Mike Vecchione earned a secondary assist.
Logan Day blasted his fourth of the season past Wallstedt with a shot from the blue line from Joe Snively and Alex Limoges at 11:23.
The Wild got on the board late in the frame when Michael Milne beat Clay Stevenson with a power-play strike at 18:21.
Hershey opened up its lead in the second period, as Frank tallied his second of the evening at 4:08 as he took a pass from Lucas Johansen and raced up the right wing before driving the net and tucking a backhand shot through the legs of Wallstedt. Aaron Ness contributed an additional helper on the goal.
Limoges converted on the power play with a deflection goal on a shot from Joe Snively at 12:18 to collect his 22nd of the season. Day also earned an assist.
Frank completed his hat trick - his second three-goal game of the season - at 14:16 as he regrouped in the offensive zone and executed a give-and-go with Vecchione before snapping it past Wallstedt. Dube also picked up a helper.
Vecchione struck 36 seconds into the third to widen the lead to five goals, as Frank sent a pass across the neutral zone to Dube, who cruised up the left side and put a shot off the pads of Wallstedt that Vecchione stuffed home for his 16th of the season.
Iowa's Vladislav Firstov tallied his first North American pro goal at 4:09 for the hosts to chip away at Hershey's lead, but Henrik Rybinski capped the scoring with his fifth of the season on a breakaway at 14:10 from Ryan Hofer and Snively.
Shots finished 26-22 in favor of Hershey. Stevenson went 20-for-22 to earn his 22nd win of the season for Hershey; Wallstedt took the loss for Iowa with a 19-for-26 effort. The Bears went 1-for-3 on the power play; the Wild went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they conclude their two-game set with the Iowa Wild, on Saturday, April 6 at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena. Hershey returns home to GIANT Center against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday, April 12 at 7 p.m. for Fairview Golf Course Logo Chip Night. The first 4,000 fans in attendance will receive a 2023 Calder Cup Champions logo golf chip. The game will also feature a pre-game happy hour featuring a $5 16 oz. select beer, available from doors to puck drop. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
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