Grant Cruikshank registered the first multi-goal game of his American Hockey League career but the Hershey Bears (11-7-1-0) fell by a 4-3 score to the Laval Rocket (14-6-0-0) on Sunday evening at GIANT Center.
NOTABLES:
- Louie Belpedio opened the scoring for Hershey by notching his first as a Bear against his former club at 2:35 of the first period, giving the defenseman a five-game point streak (1g, 4a). Andrew Cristall and Ivan Miroshnichenko assisted on the goal.
- Alex Belzile tied the game for the Rocket at 7:35 of the second period, then Marc Del Gaizo gave Laval its first lead of the evening when he swatted the puck on a broken play past Clay Stevenson at 8:13. The two goals against in a 38-second span represented the fastest sequence of goals scored against the Bears this season.
- Grant Cruikshank tied the score at 2-2 with a shorthanded marker from Henrik Rybinski and Corey Schueneman at 16:13, but Luke Tuch restored the lead for the visitors late in the frame at 18:58. Cruikshank then netted his second of the game at 3:35 of the third period to tie the score at 3-3, but Xavier Simoneau netted the game-deciding goal for Laval at 10:48.
- Ilya Protas’ point streak was stopped at seven games (8g, 6a), while Clay Stevenson’s win streak was stopped at six games.
- Bears forward Graeme Clarke skated in his 300th career AHL game.
- Bears defenseman Aaron Ness skated in his 799th career AHL game, tying Frank Mathers for 16th in league history for games played among defensemen (and 44th overall).
- Hershey hosted its Hockey Fights Cancer game.
- The Bears went 7-4-0-0 in the month of November, with Protas leading the club in scoring for the month with 14 points (8g, 6a) in 11 contests.
- The loss marked Hershey’s first home defeat to Laval since Dec. 12, 2021 (4-2 L).
SHOTS: HER 18, LAV 29
GOALTENDING: HER – Clay Stevenson, 15-for-18; LAV – Kaapo Kähkönen, 25-for-29
POWER PLAY: HER – 0-for-1; LAV – 0-for-4
THEY SAID IT:
Bears head coach Derek King on how the team attempted to adjust to Laval throughout the game:
“After we talked in there a little bit, I think that’s probably one of the better teams I’ve seen so far this year. And we made them earn it. We weren’t clean, our execution wasn’t there, but we had a game plan of just managing that puck again in the neutral zone and getting on the forecheck and playing with a little pace, but we just couldn’t sustain it. They’re fast, they come hard and it’s a good hockey team.”
King on the play of Grant Cruikshank and the need for more from elsewhere in the lineup:
“I liked him. He was going tonight and it showed with the ice time I gave him. But your top guys need to learn to play in these types of games. And I don’t think they were terrible, but I think there was more that we could have used. We used a little more from them, but I think we’re tired, a little depleted, banged up. It’s not obviously our lineup we’d like to have all the time, but give the guys credit, they didn’t quit.”
Grant Cruikshank on what the team has learned about itself from the start of the season to now:
“I think people would’ve said we’re just a really young, inexperienced team that would struggle. And I think what the league is finding out – and I guess what we’re finding out too – is we’re in the fight every night and there’s things for us to clean up, and moments in the game where we have to sharpen up – that’s maybe some of the inexperience or not having played with guys for years, like past teams here at the Bears. I think we’re in the fight every single game and keeping games close against the best teams in the league, and we’re beating the best teams in the league. So I think we’re kind of finding out about ourselves because we have a heck of a team here and [if] we clean some things up, we’re going to be in a good spot.”
The Bears continue the 2025-26 season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center for Hall of Fame Night. All fans in attendance will receive a Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame postcard as the Bears induct their Hall of Fame Class of 2025. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.
With Hershey match reportÂ