
Bears Roar Back to Top Penguins 5-4 in OT
March 1, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears (32-14-5-0) rallied from 3-0 and 4-3 deficits to triumph over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (29-14-7-1) in a 5-4 overtime win in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,580 on Saturday night at GIANT Center, as the club continued its 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health.
Ivan Miroshnichenko and Pierrick Dubé each scored twice, with Dubé netting the game-tying and game-winning goals. Hershey's record against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton improved to 5-3-0-0.
NOTABLES:
Miroshnichenko scored his 14th of the season at 15:01 of the second to take over the active team scoring lead and get Hershey on the board. Miroshnichenko then tied the score at 3-3 at 11:38 of the third period. The forward also posted nine shots on goal to match the club's single-game season-high (Mike Vecchione, Jan. 25 at Belleville).
Valtteri Puustinen led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring with two goals and an assist; his second of the game gave the Penguins a 4-3 lead eight seconds after Miroshnichenko had tied the game.
Both of Dubé's goals came unassisted. The forward tied the score at 4-4 at 13:32 of the third period with Hershey trailing 4-3.
Defender Alex Alexeyev played his first game for the Bears since Nov. 6, 2022 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, after being assigned to Hershey earlier in the day on a conditioning loan by the Washington Capitals. Alexeyev earned the primary assist on Vecchione's goal and logged a plus/minus of +4.
Mike Sgarbossa left the game midway through the first period with an upper-body injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Hershey is 8-5 in the overtime period this season, with its eight victories in sudden-death tops in the AHL. The Bears also improved to 21-6-5-0 in games decided by one goal.
SHOTS: HER 36, WBS 16
GOALTENDING: HER - Clay Stevenson, 12-for-16; WBS - Tristan Jarry, 31-for-36
POWER PLAY: HER - 0-for-3; WBS - 1-for-2
THEY SAID IT:
Bears head coach Todd Nelson on how the team earned a big win:
"Well I thought we played pretty well in the first 40 minutes. The score didn't indicate that, but we only gave up 16 shots tonight - we had 33 or something like that. So I liked the way we were playing. That's a very dangerous team. Even though we gave up 16 shots, they have a lot of skill and they made things happen off the rush, but our guys all stuck with it. I think just getting that second goal kind of sparked us and we started coming in waves and you know, it was our first game of the week, it was their third, so maybe that had something to do with it, but we just kept on coming and found a way and we almost let it slip away on us. We scored to tie it up 3-3, then they come right back 10 seconds later and score. But we found a way to win and I thought the guys played a pretty solid game, but like I said, it was a pretty low-event game for 40 minutes, but then it got pretty exciting in the third period. When they scored a power-play goal and got another two and all of a sudden you're down 3-1 and the building was kind of dead and all of a sudden we scored, the building got alive, and the guys fed off that.
Nelson on the play of Alexander Alexeyev:
"I thought he was very good. He was sticking and pinning in the D Zone. He's been working out a lot, hasn't been playing. He's a big man and I thought he did a great job for us tonight. I was wondering if there was gonna be a bit of rust. There's maybe a couple passes he might want to have back, but other than that, he was really solid for us."
NEXT GAME:
The Bears continue the 2024-25 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, when they host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday, March 2 at 5 p.m. at GIANT Center for Hersheypark Pass Night. All fans in attendance will receive a 2025 Hersheypark ticket, valid for one-day admission through June 30, 2025. Bears players will be also wearing throwback-themed jerseys that will be auctioned off post-game. Purchase tickets for the game.
American Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2025
- Amerks Come up Short in Shootout for Second Straight Night - Rochester Americans
- Lycksell Strikes Twice, Phantoms Sweep Isles - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Griffins Earn Point in Shootout Duel - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Stars Earn 30th Win of the Season in Overtime Thriller - Texas Stars
- Bears Roar Back to Top Penguins 5-4 in OT - Hershey Bears
- The Abbotsford Canucks Dominated in a 8-4 Win Over the Calgary Wranglers - Abbotsford Canucks
- Wolves Rally to Earn Point in 4-3 Overtime Loss to Stars - Chicago Wolves
- Crunch Defeat Amerks, 4-3, in Shootout - Syracuse Crunch
- Monsters Stumped by Checkers in 4-1 Loss - Cleveland Monsters
- Penguins Lose Battle with Bears in OT, 5-4 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Iowa Extends Win Streak to Four in 3-2 Shootout Win - Iowa Wild
- T-Birds Come Back, Clip Bruins in Shootout - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Checkers Drown Monsters Behind Clutch Sourdif Goal - Charlotte Checkers
- P-Bruins Grab Point in Shootout Loss to Thunderbirds - Providence Bruins
- Wolf Pack Extend Point Streak, But Fall 3-2 to Comets in the Shootout - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Marlies Edge moose in Shootout - Manitoba Moose
- Comets Own Wolf Pack in Shootout, 3-2 - Utica Comets
- Rangers Recall F Brett Berard from Hartford Wolf Pack - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Monsters Sign Defenseman Harrison Rees to Pro Tryout Contract - Cleveland Monsters
- Preview: Phantoms vs. Islanders, Game #55 - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- San Diego Gulls Reassign Vyachelsav Buteyets to Tulsa - San Diego Gulls
- Wolf Pack Loan D Carter Berger to ECHL's Bloomington Bison - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Wranglers Secure 3-2 Victory over Abbotsford - Calgary Wranglers
- Preds Recall Two from Admirals - Milwaukee Admirals
- Moose Sign Colson Gengenbach to Tryout - Manitoba Moose
- Wolf Pack Look to Stay Hot against Comets - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Game Preview: Bears vs. Penguins - Hershey Bears
- Game Preview: Bakersfield at San Diego, 6 p.m. - Bakersfield Condors
- Defender Alex Alexeyev Joins Hershey on Conditioning Loan - Hershey Bears
- Game #52 Preview: Tucson Roadrunners (25-22-2-2) vs Rockford IceHogs (21-25-5-1) - Tucson Roadrunners
- IceHogs and Roadrunners Conclude Weekend Series - Rockford IceHogs
- Coachella Valley Edges San Diego, 6-5 - San Diego Gulls
- Offense Keeps Cooking in 5-2 Win vs. Bridgeport - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Firebirds Net Four Powerplay Goals in 30th win of Season - Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Reign Earn 4-0 Shut Out Over Eagles - Ontario Reign
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