Bears Rally, Defeat Charlotte in a Shootout to Extend Streak

February 9, 2019

Riley Barber tied the game with 96 seconds left, and the Hershey Bears came back to beat the Charlotte Checkers in a shootout, 3-2, on Saturday night at Giant Center. The victory extended Hershey's current winning streak to five games, and point streak to 11 (10-0-0-1). 

For only the second time in the current point streak, the opposition drew first blood against the Chocolate and White. On a power play, Patrick Brown squeezed a loose puck through the pads of Vitek Vanecek at 14:59 to give the Checkers a 1-0 advantage. The goal came after Beck Malenstyn was whistled for a roughing infraction at 13:06. Charlotte carried their 1-0 lead into the dressing room with a 7-5 shot advantage after 20 minutes.

Jonas Siegenthaler was reassigned by the Washington Capitals to Hershey on Friday, and skated in his first Bears game since Nov. 4. At 8:47, Siegenthaler scored his first goal of the season on a drive from the right-point past a screened Alex Nedeljkovic. The 1-1 gridlock carried into second intermission, with shots tied at 17-17. 

Into the third period, the Checkers grabbed a late 2-1 lead courtesy of another special teams goal. On Hershey's third minor penalty of the frame, Jake Beam took advantage and blasted his 10th goal of the season at 12:48. In the final two minutes, Vanecek vacated the Bears net in favor of the extra attacker. Barber sent a crowd of 9,182 at Giant Center into a frenzy with his 20th goal of the season in a clutch moment. 

Sudden-death overtime for five minutes did not solve a final result, and the third meeting of the season between Hershey and Charlotte progressed to a shootout. Scoreless into the fifth round, Nathan Walker scored the eventual game-winner, followed by a Vanecek save to ice the win. Hershey's record improved to 25-20-0-3 in the win. Final shots were 34-25 Charlotte. The Bears power play finished 0-for-4, and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.

The Hershey Bears and Charlotte Checkers rematch tomorrow, Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. at Giant Center in the season-series finale. It's Chocolate-Covered February Night at the game, and all fans will receive candy upon exit, courtesy of The Hershey Company. Ticket information is available online at HersheyBears.com.