📸: Hershey Bears
Ilya Protas is as hot as the sun in the AHL with the Hershey Bears.
Early in Hershey’s matchup with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night, the 19-year-old centerman extended his incredible goal-scoring streak to seven games. Protas buried a power-play goal 7:06 into the first period, finishing a backhanded drop pass from fellow Capitals prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko.
Andrew Cristall started the play, poking an attempted Penguins clear back into the offensive zone. Miroshnichenko then picked up the loose puck and ran out of room trying to make a power move to the net, so he slid a no-look feed into the slot, which Protas pounced on for the finish.
Protas scored the goal just 1:24 after notching a secondary assist on Hershey’s first goal of the game from Graeme Clarke.
It’s his 7th multi-point game in 19 appearances this season.
The 6-foot-6 forward is serving as Hershey’s number-one center, playing between Miroshnichenko and Alexander Suzdalev on Saturday.
Ilya Protas’s 7-game goal streak
1st goal of streak – Nov 14 @ Syracuse
2nd goal of streak – Nov 15 @ Lehigh Valley
3rd goal of streak – Nov 16 vs Lehigh Valley
4th goal of streak – Nov 20 @ Cleveland
5th goal of streak – Nov 22 @ Cleveland
6th goal of streak – Nov 26 vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton