Bears Hold off Pens Late Rally, Win 3-2
November 24, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Wilkes-Barre, PA) - The Hershey Bears closed out Thanksgiving weekend on the road with a thrilling 3-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Bears goaltender Vitek Vanecek earned the win in goal after stopping 25 of 27 shots in his first game since October 28.
Hershey and Wilkes-Barre battled to a scoreless first intermission after the Bears penalty kill went a successful 3-for-3 in the stanza. The Bears led in shots, 10-6 after 20 minutes. Into the middle period, Jayson Megna opened the scoring by striking against his former team for the second time this season. On the power play, affter firing a shot from the right face-off circle, Megna followed his own try and scored on the rebound from the slot past Penguins goaltender John Muse at 5:26.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton answered to tie the game at 12:28 after a chance from in close beat Vanecek. Thomas Di Pauli beat Vanecek moving from his right to left following a sub-goal line feed from Ryan Haggerty. The Chocolate and White quickly responded to grab a 2-1 lead after a fortunate bounce on an odd-man rush. Sergei Shumakov entered the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 along the right wing with Megna available as an option. A pass across intended for Megna glanced off the skate of Pens' defenseman Kevin Czuczman and directed into the net at 13:54. The Bears carried their fortunes and 2-1 lead into the dressing room after 40 minutes. Shots were 25-13 Hershey at second intermission.
Hershey added a key insurance marker late in the third period which later stood as the game-winning goal. After a big rebound left by Muse following a pas save, Mike Sgarbossa stormed the net and roofed a shot beneath the cross-bar for his ninth goal of the season at 16:28. The Penguins cut their deficit back to one goal in the final minute with a snipe from Czuczman past Vanecek at 19:15, but the Bears held on for a 3-2 victory.
The Bears finished the night a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and 1-for-4 on the man-advantage. Final shots on goal were 34-27 Hershey. The Chocolate and White's record improves to 9-10-0-1 on the regular season.
Hershey returns to action on Wednesday, November 28 with a 7 p.m. rematch against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It's Hersheypark Pass Night at Giant Center. All fans will receive a Hersheypark Pass, valid for one-day admission through July 31, 2019. Ticket information is available online at HersheyBears.com.
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