Recalls Help Hershey to 2-1 Win Over Phantoms | Pro Hockey News

The Hershey Bears (9-4-1-0) were boosted by calls from the ECHL to complete a perfect 3-0-0-0 weekend sweep with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (9-4-1-1) on Sunday afternoon at GIANT Center.

Defenseman Connor Mayer (recalled from ECHL South Carolina earlier today) and DJ King (signed by Hershey from South Carolina to a professional tryout deal earlier today) made their Hershey debuts and both factored into the offense for the afternoon.

Mayer scored the game-winning tally in the extra frame to lift Hershey to its fourth straight win and second straight home win.

For King, son of Bears head coach Derek King, it was the first time in Bears history that a game featured a father-son/head coach-player duo for Hershey, and believed to be the seventh time in American Hockey League history, and the first in the AHL since Ulf Samuelsson coached son Phil Samuelsson with the Charlotte Checkers during the 2016-17 season. King was credited with the primary assist on Protas’ game-tying marker, his second career AHL point.

BOX SCORE

NOTES:

Lehigh Valley’s Alexis Gendron scored the opening goal at 1:31 of the second period to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Ilya Protas tied the game at 1-1 at 13:12 of the third period with his third goal in as many games and his fifth of the season after knocking in DJ King’s first shot that had bounced off the boards behind the Lehigh Valley net.
Mayer won the game for the Bears at 2:06 of overtime when Brett Leason’s first breakaway shot was deflected by Alexei Kolosov, but Henrik Rybinski found Mayer from the side of the net and fed the defender into the slot for the game.
Clay Stevenson earned his fifth win of the season and his fourth consecutive win. The win also marked Stevenson’s 50th career win with the Bears, moving the goaltender past Darren Jensen and Don Edwards for sole possession of 19th in team history.

SHOTS: HER 37, LV 37

GOALTENDING: HER – Clay Stevenson, 36-for-37; Left – Alexei Kolosov, 35-for-37

POWERPLAY: HER – 0-for-4; LF – 0-for-3

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on the call-ups play in today’s game:
“The guys that came up played well for us. They stepped in when we needed it. I think the biggest thing about seven ‘D’ was that our ‘D’ took a hit the last few games. So we tried to rest them as much as possible and keep them fresh. So I thought those guys did a great job. And again, Clay [Stevenson] – excellent.”

Derek King of the team completing a 3-0-0-0 weekend:
“They found a way to make it happen. It wasn’t always pretty, but they just stuck with it. The talking on the bench, the guys supporting and pushing each other to get to the next level. It was a lot of fun to watch and I’m probably even more tired than those guys.”

Derek King on being able to coach his son in an AHL regular-season game for the first time:
“It’s good for him. His mother will be happy. She’ll probably cry. But like I said, whether it was my child or not, [D.J. and Mayer] came in and they helped us and they took some of the pressure off the other ‘D’ who were fighting the last few days. I’m excited for him – shot wide. I’m probably going to yell at him for hitting the net [chuckles]but he shot wide and we put him in. So it was good for him.”

Bears defenseman DJ King on playing on the same team coached by his father:
“Yeah, it was wild. Actually, he had me in Rockford a few times in the preseason, but this was our first regular season snap. But it was great. He has some great one-liners off the bench, which made me chuckle a lot and it was fun. He’s very loose, a great coach and it was a lot of fun.”

DJ King about the goal he assisted, scored by Ilya Protas:
“Yes, [Andrew Cristall] If the puck had come to him, he would knock it back to me, and I would just keep my head down and shoot it at the net – I don’t even think it hit the net. I think he went behind the net and then ‘Pro’ tapped him straight in, so it was good.”

Connor Mayer on scoring the game winner in his Bears debut after a long day of travel:
“Yeah, it’s actually the first goal of the season for me all year, so to get that off my chest is pretty big. And then to come here and do it is obviously pretty special too. But yeah, a long travel day, I tried to keep it really simple all day. And then of course I was lucky enough to get that pass and it went in.”

Mayer on the directive he received from the coaching staff in Hershey after initially being loaned to South Carolina after training camp:
“I had a good training camp and got some good words from ‘Kinger,’ and it was mainly ‘Go down there, play your game, get confident, and at some point we’ll see if we can call you back in and make an impact here.’ And I think it’s going so well so far, I think.

The Bears continue the 2025-26 season presented by Penn State Health when they visit the Cleveland Monsters at Rocket Arena on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. Hershey returns home to host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for their traditional Thanksgiving Eve game on Wednesday, November 26 at 7:00 PM at GIANT Center. All fans in attendance that evening are welcome to participate in the postgame Canteen Vending Turkey Shoot on ice. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.

With Bears match report

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