Bears Score Early and Often, Blast Pens 5-1
December 28, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Wilkes-Barre, PA) - The Hershey Bears saw five different goal scorers produce in a thrilling 5-1 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Grant Besse, Garrett Pilon and Steve Whitney all tallied their second goal of the season in the victory.
The Bears opened the scoring only 16 seconds into the game courtesy of Nathan Walker. After a turnover forced by Jayson Megna following a dump and chase play, Megna sent a cross-ice pass for Walker, who batted the puck out of mid-air past Pens goaltender Anthony Peters. At the 2:00 mark, Hershey doubled their lead to 2-0 on another quick strike. Grant Besse redirected an Aaron Ness shot from the right point into the cage to provide his club an early, multi-goal cushion.
Hershey added two more in the second period to continue the offensive onslaught. At 7:13, Steven Whitney jammed a loose puck in the blue paint into the net following an initial shot from Liam O'Brien. Only 64 seconds later, Mike Sgarbossa opened Hershey's lead to 4-0 after chipping a backhander past Peters. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton broke Vitek Vanecek's early bid for a shutout and capitalized at 15:37. On a 2-on-2 offensive rush, Joseph Cramarossa scored on a broken play from the backdoor to pull the Penguins within three. Shots after 40 minutes were 17-15 Penguins.
Into the third, the theme of depth scoring continued for Hershey. At 2:08, Garrett Pilon took the puck from coast-to-coast up ice, and snapped a quick wrist shot past Peters to round out the scoring. The goal marked the second career professional goal for Pilon. The insurance marker helped the Bears cruise to a 5-1 final. Shot totals finished at 23-21 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Riley Barber was a late scratch prior to puck drop due to an illness.
The Hershey Bears return to the ice tomorrow for a 7 p.m. tilt against the Providence Bruins at Giant Center. It's Scout Night and Think Green Night presented by Waste Management. Ticket information is available online at HersheyBears.com.
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