AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Post Big Win over Marlies

Published on February 26, 2016 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


TORONTO, Ontario, Canada - Dan Ellis made 37 saves while Chris Bourque, Dustin Gazley and Jakub Vrana posted two-point games as the Hershey Bears used a total team effort to defeat the AHL-leading Toronto Marlies by a 5-2 score on Friday night at Ricoh Coliseum.

The Bears' top line came out flying and got the only goal of the period just 2:09 into the game. On a three-on-two rush, Vrana flipped a pass to his right. Bourque collected it, skated to the bottom of the right circle and beat Garret Sparks with a short-side shot into the upper-right corner for his 23rd goal of the season.

At the other end, Ellis turned away all 14 shots in the period, including one that will be seen for a while. With a Marlies player lying along the goal line in his crease and with Ellis down, he lunged up to tip a Brett Findlay shot away from what was a gaping net.

Toronto would turn up the pressure and strike twice in a span of 1:15 to take a 2-1 lead in the middle period. At 3:52, Nikita Soshnikov powered his way to the net and stuffed a shot inside the far post to tie the contest. Moments later, on Hershey's first power play of the game, Zach Hyman and Sam Carrick applied furious pressure on a Bears breakout attempt, stole the puck and took the lead when Hyman found the upper corner.

But the Bears battled back with ferocious pressure of their own and took a 3-2 lead into the locker room. Vrana tied the contest by spinning off the left boards and taking the puck to the net. His shot from in close bounced through the pads of Sparks at 8:42.

Dustin Gazley then blocked a shot attempt by David Kolomatis and had a breakaway all the way from his own blue line. He stuffed a shot under Sparks from the top of the crease, putting the Bears in front at 13:40 and ending Sparks' night in net. Antoine Bibeau came on in relief, and immediately faced another breakaway, this time by Vrana. The netminder kept his pads together to deny Vrana's low attempt.

The turning point in the game came in the third, when Connor Carrick absorbed a high stick from Sam Carrick while the Marlies potted the apparent tying goal. The play was blown dead on the penalty call and the goal waved off. At the other end, with two seconds left on the Bears' ensuing man advantage, Sean Collins redirected a pass from Chris Brown through the pads of Bibeau for a 4-2 lead at 10:31.

With the Bears playing a man short, the Marlies pulled Bibeau for a sixth attacker. Gazley hit the empty net from center ice, capping off the victory.

Ellis improved to 19-7-4 on the season with the win, while Sparks took the loss, stopping eight of 11 shots faced. Bibeau made seven saves on eight shots in 22:44 of relief.

Hershey returns home to take on the Utica Comets on Sunday, February 28 at 5:00 PM. The first 3,000 fans will receive a Bears pint glass courtesy of Labatt Blue. Fans are also encouraged to bring items for the Community Aid clothing drive. Individual tickets are available at the GIANT Center box office, by calling (717) 508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2016


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