Hershey clinched a spot with a 5-1 win over one of their in-state rivals, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and a 7-1 loss by the other, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, to the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Cristall got the Bears on the board first, lighting the lamp 6:01 into the frame with his 14th goal of the season. Taking a no-look backhand pass from Brett Leason behind the net, the Capitals' prospect winger fired a quick shot past an unaware Sergei Murashov.
Cruikshank, 27, has appeared in 50 games with the Bears this season and has registered career highs in goals (9), assists (5), and points (14). The 5'11, 193-pound forward's four shorthanded goals are tied most in the AHL and are the most by a Hershey player since Chris Bourque tallied five in the 2011-12 season.
With 6:14 remaining in the second period, Protas collected a loose puck in neutral and dumped it into the offensive zone. As he did, Rocket forward Tyler Thorpe approached from Ilya's blind side, attempting to send Protas hard into the boards. Little Pro managed to sidestep most of the impact, but Thorpe connected hard with his left leg, sending him tumbling to the ice.
"Ay, you guys have been really good to me here in this room," Stevenson said. "You picked me up after that tough third one. And, you know, we shut it down, and we got the job done. A lot of good stuff, a lot of blocked shots. Let's go, baby!"
The Hershey Bears authored an impressive comeback victory on their third Washington Capitals' night of the season. Wearing their tan Screaming Bear jerseys, Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall registered the first three-point game of his career, while Bears captain Aaron Ness scored the game-winning goal with 11:50 remaining in the third period to give the Bears a 5-4 victory over the Rockford IceHogs.
📸: Hershey Bears/Facebook The Hershey Bears are hosting another Washington Capitals night this evening at Giant Center and the team will wear their tan Screaming Bear jerseys for the third time this season. The team will also be hosting a giveaway. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive Screaming Bear knit hats courtesy of PSECU. The hats were modeled by Cam Allen and Sam Bitten for Hershey's social media accounts.
Hershey wore throwback jerseys featuring the team's "Skating Bear" logo. The emblem, initially designed in the mid '60s, features an illustration of a hockey-playing bear in full gear, with the type HERSHEY in a bold brown rectangle overtop - the same design seen on Hershey's iconic chocolate bar wrappers. "I think they're pretty, pretty sweet," Andrew Cristall told RMNB of the jersey design before its debut. "I think it's gonna be pretty cool. They look unreal, so I'm pumped to wear them."
