The Hershey Bears are one win away from a second straight appearance in the AHL Eastern Conference Finals. Hershey defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack inside the Giant Center on Saturday night, securing a 4-2 victory in Game 2.
The Bears got two scores from the red-hot Ivan Miroshnichenko, as well as markers from Ethen Frank and Hendrix Lapierre. Hunter Shepard held his own in the Hershey zone, making 22 saves for his fifth win of this postseason after being the playoffs’ MVP last year.
Hershey got on the board early through Miroshnichenko on the first power play of the game. The shooting winger received a pass from Jimmy Huntington in the left faceoff circle and fired over Dylan Garand’s shoulder to the top shelf.
Shepard kept the Bears in front as Hartford pushed hard for the tie. The 28-year-old backstop helped wipe out a five-on-three lead of nearly two minutes for the Wolf Pack. He made 11 saves in the first period alone after only needing to make 13 total stops Thursday night.
Miroshnichenko then added an insurance score for Hershey with an incredible individual effort. After receiving a pass from Garrett Roe at center ice, Miroshnichenko stripped Hartford defenseman Matthew Robertson and then waited for Garand at the net to score a highlight-reel goal.
Miroshnichenko is one of five players to score five or more goals in this year’s AHL playoffs.
Frank trickled a shot through Garand’s team early in the final frame for his fifth of the playoffs. Lapierre and Lucas Johansen caught the helpers on the scoreboard.
Lapierre scored his own goal with a deft tip-in from a Jake Massie point. The Capitals’ 2020 first-round Draft pick leads Hershey in playoff scoring with eight points (3g, 5a) in six games.
The 22-year-old center has already eclipsed his point total in last year’s playoffs. He tallied six points (3g, 3a) in 20 games en route to lifting the Calder Cup in 2023.
Jake Leschyshyn scored a consolation goal to ruin Shepard’s shutout bid. Adam Sykora added one later.
Hershey can eliminate the Wolf Pack in just three games with a road win in Game 3 on Wednesday. The Bears dispatched Hartford in just three games last year in this same round.
Here are the victory lines. Vincent Iorio, Riley Sutter and Logan Day were unavailable due to injuries. Matthew Phillips was eliminated for the third straight game.
We continue with the same projected lineup for Game 2! 📝
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– Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) May 18, 2024
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