Bears Down Penguins, 4-3
Published on December 31, 2002 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release
WILKES-BARRE, PA (Tuesday, December 31, 2002) - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were looking to ring in the New Year with their third straight win, but the Hershey Bears instead were the ones celebrating when the clock hit zero as Steve Brule's power play goal in the third period lifted the Bears' to a 4-3 win over the Penguins before a disappointed sellout crowd of 8,316 at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza.
Brule, who was playing in his first game of the season against the Penguins, broke a 3-3 tie with a power play goal at 12:52 of the third period. With the goal, his second of the 2002-03 season, Brule now has recorded 14 points (4+10) in 10 career games against the Penguins. Only three other players (Mark Greig, Peter White and Serge Aubin) have recorded more points against the Penguins than Brule in team history.
Marek Svatos and Steve Moore each recorded a goal and an assist as the Bears improved to 4-0 this season and 20-14-2 lifetime against the Penguins. Tom Kostopoulos recorded two assists in a losing effort for the Penguins, who lost for the second consecutive game at home.
Hershey jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Svatos and Moore in the first period. Svatos scored his fourth goal of the season at 6:12 and Moore followed up at 14:21 with his sixth goal.
The Penguins rallied late in the period with two unanswered goals and tied the game at 2-2. Shane Endicott scored his ninth of the season at 18:33 and Alexandre Daigle scored his first goal as a Penguin 36 seconds later to tie the game at 19:09 of the opening period.
The Penguins' took their only lead of the game early in the second period as Tomas Surovy scored his seventh goal of the season 1:16 into the period. However, Hershey answered back later in the period as Kent Davyduke scored his second goal of the season at 11:57 to tie the game at 3-3.
Goaltender Peter Budaj made 38 saves to improve his record 4-4-1, while his counterpart, Sebastien Caron finished with 39 saves. With the loss, Caron's record dropped to 10-14-1 on the season. The Bears outshot the Penguins, 43-41 in the game.
With the win, the Hershey improves to 17-10-6-1 (41 points), while the Penguins' record fell to 15-1-5-2-3 (35 points).
The Penguins return to action on Friday, January 3 when they visit the Philadelphia Phantoms at 7:05 p.m. at the First Union Spectrum.
GAME NOTES
Scratches for the Penguins tonight were Konstantin Koltsov (groin) and Darcy Robinson (healthy scratch) ... Before the game, it was announced that the Pittsburgh Penguins have released forward Alexander Zevakhin at his request ... Zevakhin is expected to return home to play for a team in Russia ... He is a native of Perm, Russia ... LW Matt Murley saw his six-game point streak come to an end ... Prior to tonight's game, Murley had seven points (2+5) in the last six games ... RW Eric Meloche returned to the Penguins' lineup after missing the last three games due to a foot fracture ... C Shane Endicott has a three-game points streak with four-point totals (1+3) from Dec. 27-31 ... Endicott has 13 points (4+9) in the last 10 games ... LW Tomas Surovy has three points (2+1) in the last three games and 17 points (6+11) in the last 15 games ... RW Tom Kostopoulos has three points (1+2) in the last three games and has 14 points (6+8) in the last 12 games, including six multiple-point games ... Kostopoulos leads the team in scoring with 30 points (12+18) in 35 games this season ... He also leads the team in goals and in assists ... Kostopoulos is only of one of three players to appear in every game this season for the Penguins. Defenseman Brendan Buckley and forward Toby Petersen are the other players to play in all 35 games this season for the Penguins.
American Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2002
- Valk propels Norfolk over Crunch - OSC Original by Ed Gonser
- Ducks to Begin 2003 with Four-Game Homestand - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Bears Down Penguins, 4-3 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Monarchs Ring In The New Year With 5-1 Victory Over Lowell - Manchester Monarchs
- Time Runs out on Griffins - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Phantoms lose 1-0 in Portland - Adirondack Phantoms
- AHL trades ring out 2002 - AHL
- Sound Tigers Lose 2002 Finale 4-2 In Manitoba - Bridgeport Islanders
- Maple Leafs Acquire Perrot - Toronto Marlies
- Bird of a Different Feather to Join Admirals - Milwaukee Admirals
- Bears End Year with 4-3 Win over Penguins - Hershey Bears
- Allen Recalled by Oilers - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Focht back with Falcons - Springfield Falcons
- Coyotes acquire Pelletier for DesRochers - Springfield Falcons
- IceCats Blood Drive Results Announced - Worcester IceCats
- Town and Country Linoleum and Carpet Puck Night Set For January 4 - Syracuse Crunch
- Wingfield Returned To Elmira - Syracuse Crunch
- Wolverine and Brian Dawkins at Friday's Game - Adirondack Phantoms
- First Place Sound Tigers Split Two Game Holiday Week - Bridgeport Islanders
- Checkers Hope to Keep Winning Ways Going - Charlotte Checkers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
