Bears Top Penguins in 6-1 Win

December 4, 2024

The Hershey Bears (15-5-3-0) established a new record for best road point streak in franchise history on their way to beating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (11-5-1-0) by a 6-1 score on Wednesday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, as the club continued its 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health.

The win gave Hershey its 11th consecutive road contest with a point (9-0-2-0), breaking the previous mark. The Bears have also continued to add to their best road point streak from the start of a season in franchise history.

Bears forward Henrik Rybinski established a new single-game career high with a three-point outing (1g, 2a), while fellow forward Ethen Frank continued his scoring pace, finding the net for the fifth consecutive game for the Chocolate and White to match his previous career mark. Frank's goal - his 16th of the season - also jumped him into sole possession of first place in the American Hockey League's goal-scoring race.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Hershey built a 3-0 lead by the first intermission with three goals in a span of 5:06, beginning with Ethan Bear's fourth of the season at 14:48 of the opening frame.
• Rybinski assisted on Hershey's second and third goals in the first period, then netted his fifth of the season at 14:32 of the second period.
• Frank collected his league-leading 16th goal at 19:43 of the second period, with assists to Mike Vecchione and Mike Sgarbossa, the latter of whom finished the night with a pair of assists.
• Alex Limoges scored Hershey's fifth goal and assisted on the game-winning goal scored by Pierrick Dube; Limoges' assist marked the 100th of his pro career.

SHOTS: HER 34, WBS 30

GOALTENDING: HER - Hunter Shepard, 29-for-30; WBS - Joel Blomqvist [L], 20-for-26; Filip Larsson, 8-for-8

POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-2; WBS - 0-for-2

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Todd Nelson's thoughts on Hershey's play tonight and bouncing back from Saturday's loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton:
"It was a huge response. I thought our guys came in here and played a good 60 minutes of what we've been talking about. They feel really good about our team right now after that game. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's a good hockey team. They came at us right off the start, but [Hunter Shepard] was huge for us in goal and then we just kept at it, and we scored three goals in the last five minutes of the first. That kind of put them on their heels a bit, and then we just played solid hockey and capitalized on our chances. When our team plays within its structure and keeps it simple, we're a pretty good team."

Nelson on the play and development of Henrik Rybinski:
"I think we saw him turn the corner last year, right after Christmas and he really improved and he had a great playoff run with us and, and now he's just playing with a lot more confidence and he's taking his game to another level - that was probably the best game he's played this year for sure."

Henrik Rybinski on his individual performance and the team's play:
"I just tried to play smart and just be positionally sound and that worked in my favor and I was able to get some nice pucks in some good areas. The team played really well. The 'D' were really good, along with our goaltending. It was a really strong performance by the whole team, and we've just got to keep it rolling."

NEXT GAME:

The Bears continue the 2024-25 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, when they visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:05 p.m. at PPL Center. Hershey returns home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 5 p.m. at GIANT Center for Hersheypark Pass Night, when all fans in attendance will receive a free 2025 Hersheypark ticket, valid for one-day admission through June 30, 2025. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.