The Hershey Bears need a complete three-period effort after the Hamilton Hammers defeated them 4-1 at GIANT Center. Bogdan Trineyev gave Hershey an early lead, but Hamilton scored in the second period and pulled ahead for good in the third.
Hershey Bears Take Early Lead
Trineyev scored just over six minutes into the first period, swatting in a loose puck that had pinballed off the pads of Hamilton goaltender Vítek Vaněček. The goal was Trineyev’s fifth of the season and tied him for the team lead in goals.
Hamilton hit the iron several times in the second period before Quinn Finley scored midway through the frame to tie the game. Pierre Engvall then scored a power-play goal midway through the third period to put the Hammers ahead for good, and Robby Fabbri added a goal with under two minutes remaining.
Derek King Says Hershey Bears Must Sustain Pressure
Hershey Bears head coach Derek King said Hamilton took control after Hershey eased off its early effort. “I think their team is better than their record. They’ve got some good guys, especially up front that can finish, and we just kind of let our foot off the gas there in the second, and they tilted the ice, and we just couldn’t climb our way back in,” King said following the loss. “We had some shifts with momentum, but most of the time we were back on our heels.”
King said Hershey created chances but could not finish them. He highlighted Hamilton players such as Fabbri and Liam Foudy as finishers who capitalize on opportunities. “We’ve got some guys that are getting chances that are not quite there yet, but I liked our push. We had some chances around the net. Pucks were bouncing, it just wasn’t going in for us.”
Hershey Bears Alternating Wins and Losses
Hershey has alternated losses and wins over its last five outings. During that span, the Bears have outshot their opponents 180-105 but have been outscored 15-13. King said inconsistent stretches have made it harder for Hershey to sustain pressure later in games.
“I’m a believer we’re going to get there, but the frustrating part is we take that half a period off or a period off – there’s a lot of good players in this league and there’s a lot of good players that have played some NHL games, guys that can finish – so you take that period off, or half a period off, you spend a lot of time in your zone and you’re tired.
Now finally we get pucks back and we start putting the pressure on them, but we’re so tired we can’t sustain that pressure all the time. That’s probably the frustrating part, but I still like the way we’re playing, if we can just put a solid three periods in, and we’ve done that this year and we’ve won hockey games.”
Lydnen Lakovic Continues Professional Development
King also discussed Lydnen Lakovic, who is in his first year of professional hockey. King said Lakovic’s speed can create opportunities, but the Hershey player needs to attack the inside of the ice and get to the net more often.
“He does look like he’s dominating out there, and sometimes he is. He just has to get to that inside of the ice; that’s where you’re going to score some goals. A lot of shots coming from the perimeter a bit, but if he can – he didn’t drive one to the net earlier in the period, and then he finally took one wide and cut in – that’s what he needs to do,” King said. “If he does that repeatedly, repeatedly, he’s going to get more opportunities because the ‘D’, they can’t keep up with his speed. They’re going to back off, and then the shots will start coming. But he’s got to get inside and start paying the price to get to the net.”
Maryland Sports Blog Analysis
The 4-1 loss showed the importance of the complete effort King described. Hershey held an early lead and generated a significant shot advantage over its last five outings, but the Bears’ 15-13 scoring deficit during that span underscores the need to convert chances and maintain pressure.
King’s assessment centered on consistency rather than a lack of opportunity. For the Hershey Bears, sustaining their effort through all three periods will be essential to turning strong shot totals into better results.
Source: Original report
