February 18, 2023
Mike Sgarbossa, Mike Vecchione, and Connor McMichael each recorded three points as the
Hershey Bears (31-12-5-1) picked up a 6-3 victory over the Charlotte Checkers (28-17-2-2) on Saturday evening at Bojangles Coliseum.
The win was Hershey’s first victory at Charlotte since Oct. 23, 2021, and snapped a four-game (0-3-1-0) winless stretch at Bojangles Coliseum for the Bears.
BOX SCORE
Ethen Frank put Hershey up 1-0 with the man advantage at 14:11 when the rookie one-timed a feed at the left circle past Alex Lyon for his 22nd of the season. Vecchione and Sgarbossa garnered the assists.
Charlotte tied the score at 1-1 at 13:15 of the second period when Logan Hutsko took advantage of a Hershey turnover out of the corner and blasted a shot from the slot that beat Zach Fucale.
Vecchione restored the lead for the Bears with another power-play goal when he deflected McMichael’s shot from the right point through the legs of Lyon at 15:58 for his 15th of the season.
Henrik Borgstrom extended the lead to 3-1 just 2:20 into the third when McMichael threw the puck back to the blue line off a 2-on-1 rush, and Logan Day drove the puck on net, and Borgstrom managed to dig out the rebound and stuff it past Lyon for his seventh of the season.
Riley Nash answered for the Checkers at 3:38 to bring Charlotte back to within a goal.
Late in the frame, the Bears managed to draw a delayed penalty against Charlotte, and while maintaining possession, Sgarbossa rifled a shot from the right circle past Lyon at 17:16 for his 17th of the season from Bobby Nardella and Jake Massie, making the score 4-2.
Lucas Carlsson scored with Lyon pulled for an extra skater to once again bring Charlotte back to within a goal.
The Bears then potted empty-net tallies from Vecchione (18:43, assisted by Vincent Iorio) and McMichael (19:29, assisted by Borgstrom) to seal the game.
Shots finished 27-25 in favor of the Bears. Fucale went 22-for-25 for his 15th win of the season; Lyon was 21-for-25 for Charlotte.
The Bears were 2-for-4 on the power play; the Checkers finished 0-for-5 with the man advantage.
Hershey continues the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, when the Chocolate and White conclude their road trip against the Charlotte Checkers at Bojangles Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m.
The Bears return home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. for Faulkner Dodge Ram Bucket Hat Night. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bears bucket hat, courtesy of Faulkner Dodge Ram.
Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
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