FRANK’S HAT TRICK PROPELS HERSHEY TO 7-2 WIN OVER IOWA
Apr 5, 2024DES MOINES, Iowa – Ethen Frank’s hat trick propelled the Hershey Bears to a 7-2 win over the Iowa Wild at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday night. Vladislav Firstov scored his first AHL goal in the loss.
Hershey opened up a two-goal lead in the early stages of the first period. Frank scored his first of the game when he knocked a loose puck past the glove hand of Jesper Wallstedt (19 saves) at 4:20.
Logan Day put the Bears ahead 2-0 at 11:23 with a one-timer from the point through traffic.
Michael Milne narrowed the margin to one goal with 1:39 remaining in the opening frame. With the Wild on the power play, Will Butcher fired a point shot that Sammy Walker tipped into Clay Stevenson (20 saves). Milne punched the rebound home from the top of the crease for his sixth goal of the season.
Iowa outshot Hershey 8-6 through the opening 20 minutes.
The Bears added three goals in the second period. Frank found the back of the net again at 4:08 with a backhand finish along the ice.
Alex Limoges tipped a centering pass from Jay Snively under the crossbar at 12:18 of the second to make the score 4-1.
Frank completed the hat trick 1:58 later with a snap shot from the high slot.
The Bears led the shot count 18-12 through two periods.
Mike Vecchione made the score 6-2 in favor of the Bears with a rebound finish 36 seconds into the third.
Firstov sprung Gavin Hain on a shorthanded rush and knocked the rebound of Hain’s shot past Stevenson at 4:09.
Henrik Rybinski capped the scoring for Hershey with 5:50 to play.
Hershey outshot Iowa 26-22. The Wild were 1-for-4 with the man advantage while the Bears went 1-for-3 on the power play.
Iowa and Hershey square off again on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena on Jesper Wallstedt Bobblehead Night presented by Niece Trucking. The first 1,500 fans will receive a Jesper Wallstedt bobblehead presented by Home Solutions of Iowa and LAZER 103.3.
For more information on Iowa Wild hockey, please visit www.iowawild.com. Fans can purchase single-game tickets through the team’s website at www.iowawild.com. Group tickets (10 or more), suites, Wild 365 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or tickets@iowawild.com. Season tickets for 2023-24 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.
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