HERSHEY, Pa. (WHTM) — The Hershey Bears lost their fifth game of the last seven, 3-1 to Utica at home on Sunday evening. The Bears are currently fourth place in the Atlantic Division standings.

Vitek Vanecek stopped 21 shots in a conditioning start, and Jake Massie scored his first goal with the Chocolate and White.

Just 16 seconds into the third period, Utica’s Joe Gambardella finally netted the first goal of the game. It was Gambardella’s 10th goal of the season.

After a penalty kill from Hershey, Utica’s Ryan Schmelzer made it 2-0. The puck was stopped by Vanecek, then hit Hershey defenseman Dylan McIlrath and bounced into the net at 8:53.

Massie scored his first goal as a Bear in the third off the Brett Leason and Alex Alexeyev assist to pull within one. But with an empty Bears net late, Schmelzer sealed the victory with less than a minute to play.

Hershey split the season series with the Comets, and the Bears record fell to 26-19-3-3.

The Bears are back in action at home on Wednesday, March 2 against the Charlotte Checkers. Every fan who attends will take home a Hersheypark Pass to be used at the amusement park this summer.