HERSHEY — The Hershey Bears have struggled to score so much this season that getting four goals in one game seems like they hit the Powerball jackpot.
For only the third time this season, the Bears scored four or more goals and defeated the Toronto Marlies 4-2 at the Giant Center on Sunday night.
While the team's offense enjoyed the increased goal output, goaltender Braden Holtby was stellar in net, making 40 saves. He was there to cover up Hershey's occasional inability to move the puck from its defensive zone.
The victory broke Hershey's three-game losing streak. The Bears won for only the second time in their last eight games. For the Marlies, the loss was their third straight.
The Bears (7-10-1-0) were outshot in the game 42-19. They have outshot their opponent once in 17 games.
"In no shape, way or form was it a 60-minute effort," Hershey coach Mark French said. "We held on. But to break a (losing) streak, that first one is often the hardest. You have a big rock rolling downhill and it's hard to get it stopped. I think it's important that we celebrate this win, and though it's not ideal, it's a step in the right direction.
"Hopefully, we can gain some confidence from it with the understanding that we have to be a lot better."
Alex Berry scored his first goal of the season midway through the first period. Berry buried Zach Hamill's backhand pass across the slot for a 1-0 Hershey lead.
Hershey scored on its next shot (two goals in five shots), getting a power-play goal from Hamill. Evan Barlow, playing in his first game since being called up from the Reading Royals, picked up an assist.
"It's a fast(er) game and it takes a little bit of adjusting but that will come," said Barlow, who had 10 points in just four games for Reading after being traded to the Royals from San Francisco. Barlow played 47 games for the AHL Rampage last season.
"He made a real good play on the power play," said French, who wasn't afraid to play Barlow on the first power-play unit. "He absorbed some pressure on the halfwall and made a real nice play to Jeff Taffe down low and Taffe made a good play to Hamill on the back door."
As relieved as the Bears were to win, they were just as relieved to score on the power play, which went 0 for 7 against Adirondack on Saturday.
The Bears scored twice in a span of 45 seconds early in the second period to double their lead. Cameron Schilling beat Toronto goalie Mark Owuya from the right point to make it 3-0 and Jon DiSalvatore got a great feed from Dmitry Orlov to make it 4-0.
The goal represented the 500th point of DiSalvatore's AHL career.
The Marlies' Matt Frattin ruined Holtby's shutout, banging home a rebound, also in the second period. It was Frattin's fifth goal in his fifth game. Former Hershey Bear Keith Aucoin, in his only visit to the Giant Center this season, picked up the first of two assists.
Strictly a guess, but the teams spent 18 of the third period's 20 minutes in the Bears' zone. Whether Hershey was sitting on the lead or just couldn't break out of its zone, the pressure was on. Toronto (9-8-0-1) recorded the first 13 shots of the period, getting its lone goal of the period on Mark Fraser's left point shot.
At one point, Orlov slid through the crease to make a save with Holtby out of position. Hershey was outshot 17-4 in the period. In a stat kept by the Bears, the Marlies had 63 shot attempts to 29 for the Bears in the game.
Notes: The Bears achieved the win without arguably their best defenseman, Garrett Stafford, who led the team in scoring entering the game. Stafford was injured in Saturday night's game against the Phantoms. French was hoping to learn more on Stafford's status today. ... Aucoin's two assists Sunday gave him 794 for his AHL career, 12th on the all-time list. No. 799 will tie him with former Bears coach Bruce Boudreau. ... Hershey travels to Norfolk on Wednesday before hosting Bridgeport on Friday night.
