In a critical match, the Hershey Bears, missing several key players due to illness or injury, recalled four players from the ECHL and faced the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Despite adversity, the Bears delivered a strong performance, with important contributions from recently called-up players, notably Andrew Perrott, who scored the game’s first goal. The match intensified with a near-brawl following a brutal boarding incident, marking a pivotal moment in a season filled with ups and downs for Hershey, highlighting the team's resilience and depth amid challenges.
We made quite a few changes since the last game," Nelson said per the Bears. "I know some guys are sick but this was the lineup we were going to go with anyways. And they came out and played a really good game. The guys we inserted played outstanding.
Days later, the 5-foot-10 rearguard opened the scoring for the Bears, scoring the team's first goal in 10 days. Off a clean Garrett Roe faceoff win, Perrott unleashed a huge slapshot that clanged off the post and in 4:40 into the first period.
Shortly after the Penguins' Emil Bemstrom tied it up 1-1 and Hendrix Lapierre and Ethan Bear gave Hershey back a 3-1 lead, the two teams had a huge showdown that could be a moment Hershey looks back on that turned around their up-and-down season.
A near-line brawl was sparked by Penguins forward Vasily Ponomarev brutally boarding Bears forward Dalton Smith with 4:09 remaining in the period. The illegal hit caused four different players to be ejected.
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