Bears Unable to Close Out Series in 4-1 Loss to Amerks

May 31, 2023

The Hershey Bears (9-3) were prevented from closing out their series with the Rochester Americans (8-5) following a 4-1 loss in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night at GIANT Center, in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,520. The Bears now lead the best-of-seven series 3-2.

BOX SCORE

Rochester struck first at 4:43 of the first period when Jiri Kulich’s wrister from the left circle got past the blocker of Hunter Shepard.

Through two periods of play, the Bears outshot the Americans 24-17.

Rochester scored early in the third as Lukas Rousek snapped a shot past Shepard at 1:22.

The Bears finally solved Malcom Subban at 3:44 when Aliaksei Protas deflected a point shot from Logan Day for a power-play goal, his fifth tally of the playoffs. Joe Snively collected a secondary assist.

The Americans, however, countered with a power-play goal from Michael Mersch at 13:11 and an empty-net tally from Rousek at 18:38.

Shots finished 33-27 in favor of the Bears. Shepard went 23-for-26 for the Bears in the loss; Subban went 32-for-33 in the victory for the Americans. Hershey was 1-for-2 on the power play, while Rochester went 1-for-4.

The Bears’ 2023 playoffs, presented by Penn State Health, continues when the Chocolate and White face the Rochester Americans for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Blue Cross Arena on Friday, June 2 at 7:05 p.m. Should the series return home to GIANT Center for Game 7, that will take place on Monday, June 5 at 7 p.m. CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS. Continue to check HersheyBears.com for the latest updates on the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs, including games, dates, times, and ticket information.