Power-play woes continue as Amerks fall to the Bears
ROCHESTER, N.Y.. — The 473rd all-time meeting between the Hershey Bears and the Rochester Americans took place on Wednesday night at the Blue Cross Arena. A poor start defensively in the second period, along with a lack of opportunity on the power play, led to a 3-2 loss for the Amerks.
Between the pipes for the Bears was Cal Petersen, who entered the evening with a 3-1 record and a 2.52 GAA, with a .905 save percentage. For the Amerks it was Matt Villalta, who made his eighth start of the season. Villalta entered Wednesday’s contest with a 4-2-1 record and 1.86 GAA, with a .926 save percentage.
The game remained scoreless halfway through the first period. Hershey led Rochester 6-2 in shots on goal.
The Bears would open the scoring with 6:06 remaining in the first period, as LW Lynden Lakovic tapped the puck over the left pad of Villalta to give the Bears the early advantage. Defenseman Louie Belpedio and RW Spencer Smallman were credited with the assists on the goal.
The first period would end with the Bears maintaining their 1-0 lead. Hershey also led in shots on goal by a 10-8 margin.
Hershey would quickly build a three-goal advantage just 2:56 into the middle frame. Forward Petr Sikora scored the Bears second goal of the game, 2:32 into the second period, while Belpedio would score his first goal of the season, just 24 seconds after the Sikora goal. Lakovic and RW Joey Anderson were credited with assists on the Sikora goal. Lakovic would get his third point of the night with the assist on the Belpedio goal; Sikora would secure his second point of the night, as he was credited with the secondary assist on the Belpedio goal.
Amerks Head Coach Michael Leone said that the Bears are a great team, but still says they should not be giving up easy goals to teams like the Bears.
"We're not a good enough team to just hand teams goals like that," Leone said. "I thought we did a really good job against that group, defending; I really did, besides the ones that we just gave to them."
With 4:33 remaining in the second period, Amerks LW Aidan McDonough would net his fourth goal of the season to bring the Bears lead down to two. Defenseman Brendan Warren was credited with the lone assist on the goal.
The Amerks would trim the Hershey lead down to one as RW Carson Meyer would score his second goal of the season with 3:09 remaining in the middle stanza. Defenseman Caleb Jones and Forward Matthew Peca both recorded their fifth assists of the season on the Meyer goal. Peca would take over the team lead in points with his ninth point (4+5) of the season.
Video credit: @AmerksHockey on X
McDonough acknowledged the resiliency in the team being able to come back from down three but knows there were plenty of missed opportunities later in the game.
"We have some pretty good leaders; Meyer was pretty animated and I thought he got us going there on the bench," McDonough said. "At the same time though, we have to have more to give to get the thing tied up."
Rochester would take the lead in shots on goal by the end of the second period, taking an 18-16 advantage over the Bears.
The third period would remain scoreless through 15 minutes of play. Hershey would retake their shots-on-goal advantage with a 22-19 lead.
While the Amerks had two power-play opportunities in the third period, they were unable to capitalize on any of them, going 0/5 on the night on the man advantage.
Leone acknowledged the power play woes and knows changes need to be made considering the slow start this season on the man advantage.
"We had moments in the third period where we had power plays and we didn't execute," Leone said. "I think you have to simplify those moments of just getting pucks and bodies to the net and try to create second and third opportunities."
Neither team would be able to capitalize in the final frame, leading to a 3-2 win for the Bears. Both teams would end the night with 22 shots on net.
With the loss, the Amerks dropped their second consecutive home game, after opening up the season by winning their first two home games at the Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks dropped their previous home contest against the Utica Comets last Wednesday by a 5-3 score.
The Amerks (4-4-1) will return to action on Friday night at the Blue Cross Arena as they take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, with puck drop scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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