Alex Suzdalev scored his first career American Hockey League goal to break a 1-1 tie in the third period and lift the Hershey Bears (6-4-1-0) to a 2-1 victory over the Rochester Americans (8-5-0-0) on Sunday evening at GIANT Center. 
NOTABLES:
- Sam Bitten opened the scoring with his second goal in as many games since joining the Bears earlier this week, knocking in Louie Belpedio’s initial shot from the right point at 13:51 of the first period.
- Trevor Kuntar leveled the scoring for Rochester at 17:14 of the first period, scoring on a breakaway.
- After a scoreless second period, Alex Suzdalev broke the 1-1 draw for Hershey in the third with his first AHL goal at 6:57. Suzdalev accepted a pass from Ryan Chesley and walked in on a two-on-one, scoring high-glove on Rochester goaltender Topias Leinonen for the eventual game-winner.
- Hershey netminder Clay Stevenson stopped 22 shots, including 11 attempts in the second period, to earn his second consecutive win and improve to 3-3-0 on the season.
- Hershey has won its last five meetings with Rochester dating back to Dec. 29, 2023 and its last four in Hershey dating back to March 18, 2023.
SHOTS: HER 21, ROC 23
GOALTENDING: HER – Clay Stevenson, 22-for-23; ROC – Topias Leinonen, 19-for-21
POWER PLAY: HER – 0-for-3; ROC – 0-for-1
THEY SAID IT:
Bears head coach Derek King on what he liked out of his team’s response following Friday’s loss and getting the win tonight:
“Well, I think the big thing here is we responded to a game where guys were not happy. So I was pretty happy with the way we responded. Good for [Suzdalev] to get a goal, his first goal there. But I liked our game. I mean, we made it hard for them to get through the neutral zone, which we always talk about. And we were good on the forecheck to slow them down.”
King on the re-insertion of several larger players into the lineup:
“The biggest thing with putting those guys in was just that I don’t want them sitting. I hate when guys are sitting around the locker room, whether they’re fast or not, but they can still play quick. You don’t have to be a fast skater to play quick. I liked their game tonight. I had them on the ice at the end, and they did a great job. I know those guys are not going to cheat it. I know they’re going to get in the lanes, they’re going to block a shot, they’ll dive in front of anything for the team. So that’s why they’re out there. But to your point, I still want to play fast, but they’re going to have to try to keep up.”
Alex Suzdalev on where he has progressed in his development to earn more consistent time in the AHL with Hershey this season after spending the majority of last season in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays:
“I think just being patient. Obviously I had time in South Carolina last year and I think I just took it [positively] and played lots and improved my game. And, it’s a bigger step this year.”