The Chicago Wolves continued their season-long, seven-game homestand when they faced off against the two-time defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears on Sunday at Allstate Arena.
Ryan Suzuki and Aleksi Heimosalmi scored for the Wolves but the Bears prevailed 5-2 to sweep the weekend series and become the first team to clinch an American Hockey League postseason berth this season.
The Wolves seized the lead midway through the opening period when Suzuki took a feed from Nikita Pavlychev and ripped a one-timer from the slot that beat Bears netminder Clay Stevenson to the stick side. Pavlychev and Riley Stillman recorded assists on Suzuki’s eighth goal of the season.
A first-period goal by Nicky Leivermann and scores by Pierrick Dube, Grant Cruikshank and Spencer Smallman, respectively, in the second put the Bears in front 4-1 heading into the third period.
Chicago didn’t quit as Heimosalmi tallied a power-play goal early in the third to cut the deficit to 4-2. The defenseman teed up a shot from the point and wired it past Stevenson’s stick for Heimosalmi’s fifth goal of the season. Felix Unger Sorum and Skyler Brind’Amour picked up assists.
Hershey’s Matt Strome capped the scoring with an empty-netter in the waning moments.
Ruslan Khazheyev (21 saves) took the loss in goal for the Wolves while Stevenson (25 saves) earned the win for the Bears.
Chicago dropped to 30-25-3-0 on the season while Hershey moved to 37-15-5-1.