Bears Comeback Falls Short in 4-3 Loss to Toronto

October 16, 2019

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored twice, but the Hershey Bears dropped a 4-3 decision to the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The loss marked Hershey's first regular season road defeat in Toronto since Feb. 16, 2013. 

The Bears fell behind 2-0 early, but Liam O'Brien cut the deficit in half with a late first period tally. Kenny Agostino opened the scoring for the Marlies at 5:55, and Egor Korshkov tallied on the power play at 10:17 after receiving a backdoor pass from Jeremy Bracco. O'Brien's goal came at 18:31 after a centering pass on a 2-on-1 rush intended for rookie Brett Leason deflected into the net. Shots after 20 minutes were 10-8 Marlies.

Next period, Adam Brooks scored on Toronto's first shot of the frame at 1:20. Brooks split two defenders and scored all alone on Vitek Vanecek to end his night after yielding three goals on 11 shots. Pheonix Copley entered the game in relief and denied 12 of 13 Toronto shots. 

Jonsson-Fjallby scored his first of two goals at 10:39 of the second period on another fortunate Bears bounce. Racing to the net, Jonsson-Fjallby's centering pass caromed of a defenders skate and past Marlies goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo to pull Hershey within 3-2. The Marlies responded with a Tanner MacMaster power play strike at 18:42 which stood as the eventual game-winning goal. 

In the third, Jonsson-Fjallby completed his first AHL multi-goal game with his second tally of the night at 4:52. On a perfect give-and-go pass with Brian Pinho, Jonsson-Fjallby redirected the head-man pass low to the ice, and into the net to round out the 4-3 final. 

Final shots on goal were 30-24 Hershey. The Bears finished the night 0-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-4 on the penalty kill. 

The Hershey Bears return to action on Friday, October 18 for their second leg of a three-game Canadian road swing. The Bears will visit the Belleville Senators for the lone time this season at CAA Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM. Voice of the Bears Zack Fisch will have the call on the Bears Radio Network.