Bears Even Series with 2-1 Game 2 Win over Penguins
AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Even Series with 2-1 Game 2 Win over Penguins

Published on May 2, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


Wilkes-Barre Township, PA - The Hershey Bears (3-1) leveled the Atlantic Division Semifinals at a game apiece with a 2-1 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (1-1) in Game 2 of the best-of-five series on Saturday evening at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.

NOTABLES:

Brett Leason buried his first of the postseason at 16:25 of the first period with the Bears on the man advantage to give the visitors their first lead in the series.

Bogdan Trineyev left with an apparent injury shortly before Leason's goal, but returned at the start of the second period and buried his second of the playoffs at 17:11 to give Hershey a 2-0 edge. The goal extended Trineyev's point streak for the current postseason to four games (2g, 3a).

Ilya Protas and Andrew Cristall assisted on both Hershey goals; Protas extended his point streak to four games (2g, 3a), while Cristall extended his point streak to three games (2g, 3a).

Aidan McDonough scored 1:12 into the third period to trim the Bears' lead to 2-1 and spoil Clay Stevenson's shutout bid; Stevenson earned his third win of the postseason with a 36-save effort performance, his best in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Aaron Ness skated in his 74th career playoff game with the Bears, tying Ralph Keller for first in club history among defensemen and third overall.

SHOTS: HER 26, WBS 37

GOALTENDING: HER - Clay Stevenson, 36-for-37; WBS - Sergei Murashov, 24-for-26

POWER PLAY: HER - 1-for-3; WBS - 0-for-4

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Derek King on the team matching Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's pushback in the third:

"Yeah, we were desperate. Obviously they hemmed us in there. We knew that was going to happen. They can buzz that puck around, but I thought we did a good job blocking shots, getting in lanes, forcing pucks to go down low, but they were shooting pucks from everywhere, so good on Clay [Stevenson]."

King on the team building on its effort despite the loss in Game 1 and channeling it into a win tonight:

"Well, I just reminded them how we played good enough, like we played good enough to win that hockey game - the first one - but don't be comfortable with just good enough. There's another level of us being better and they took it upon themselves today and they showed that whether we were hemmed in or not, we played hard hockey."

King on his utilization of Brett Leason in a variety of situations:

"[I've had] him on different lines. I put him in [at] center...he's like that fourth outfielder in slow pitch, right? The extra guy, the rover. That's what he does. And he doesn't complain about it. He just goes about his business. When I call him up, I'll tell him at the end that I put him on the wing with that one line, and he's fine."

Brett Leason on his goal helping set the tone:

"Yeah, for sure. Obviously, kind of a lucky bounce to go in, but we needed a good start, play with the lead. I think these past few playoff games, we've really shown how we can be defensively and play with the lead. And I thought we played that to a 'T' today."

Leason on the confidence gained by Hershey's performance through the first two games of the series:

"Yeah, it shows a lot. Obviously, this team kind of had our number in the regular season, but playoffs is a different game. And I think we were a bounce away from winning the first game and obviously they got that one; we could have easily been up two [games], but now we've got to go get the job done at home."

(Answers edited for clarity)

The Bears continue the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs when they host Game 3 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals against the Penguins on Tuesday, May 5, at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from May 2, 2026


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