Jimmy Huntington enjoyed a three-point night, Matthew Phillips added two points in his debut, and the Hershey Bears (42-11-0-4) bounced back and snapped a season-high three-game winless skid (0-2-0-1) in a 3-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers (28-22-6-0) on Saturday night at Bojangles' Coliseum.
Hershey's record against Charlotte is now 4-2-0-0, with two games remaining in the season series, both back at GIANT Center.
With the win, Hershey's Magic Number has been reduced to two points. Hershey can now clinch a berth in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs with a win in its next game (at Utica, Friday, March 15 at 7 p.m.) or a regulation loss by the Springfield Thunderbirds; Springfield is next in action at Providence on Sunday, March 10 at 3:05 p.m.
Phillips opened the scoring just 4:36 into the first period when Huntington relayed a pass from Pierrick Dube over to Phillips at the left side of Spencer Knight, who buried his 104th career AHL goal and his first as a Bear.
Mackie Samoskevich drew the Checkers level at 8:56 with a 4-on-4 strike that beat Clay Stevenson.
Dube and Phillips went to work along the boards behind the Charlotte net to help set up a short-side strike from Huntington at 15:55 for his 12th of the season, giving Hershey a 2-1 edge.
Huntington buried the eventual game-winner and his second of the evening at 3:29 of the middle frame when he settled a Mike Vecchione rebound and stuffed it past Knight for a power-play marker; Chase Priskie earned a secondary assist.
The Checkers drew back to within a goal at 19:01 with a shorthanded unassisted goal by Patrick Giles.
Despite Charlotte limiting the Bears to just one shot on goal in the third period, Stevenson stopped all 10 shots he faced in the stanza to secure the win.
Shots finished 26-22 in favor of the Checkers. Stevenson went 24-for-26 in the victory for Hershey to earn his 19th of the season, tops among rookie AHL netminders; Knight took the loss for Charlotte with a 19-for-22 effort. The Bears went 1-for-4 on the power play; the Checkers went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.
The Bears continue the 2023-24 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they conclude their road trip against the Utica Comets on Friday, March 15 at Adirondack Bank Center at 7 p.m. Hershey returns home to host the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for GIANT Pennant Night. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bears pennant, courtesy of GIANT. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.
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