Bears top Sound Tigers, 3-2
March 15, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
Hershey, PA - Jon Sim would score his seventh goal of the season and add an assist but the Hershey Bears would prevail, beating the Sound Tigers, 3-2. Andrew MacDonald scored the Sound Tigers' second goal of the contest, late in the third period. Chris Bourque, Oskar Osala and Alexandre Giroux had the goals for the Bears. Michael Mole started in goal for the Sound Tigers, suffering the loss in his first AHL game in two years. The Sound Tigers fall to second place in the East Division with the loss and their record drops to 41-20-3-5. With the win, Hershey now has a one point lead over the Sound Tigers with 91 points for the top spot in the East Division.
The Sound Tigers got on the board first on a 5-on-3 power-play goal by Sim, his seventh of the season. Joe Callahan fed a pass down low to the left corner where Junior Lessard was waiting. Lessard timed it perfectly with Sim, cutting in from the back door, to send a pass to the NHL veteran for the easy tap in at the far post, with 4:32 remaining in the opening period. Less than a minute later, Bourque and the Bears would tie the game at 1-1. Andrew Gordon won a face-off in the Sound Tigers' zone back to Kyle Wilson who fired a shot on goal. Mole blockered the puck down but Bourque was there crashing the net to chip it over the Sound Tigers' net-minder for his 18th tally of the season.
Osala would give the Bears their first lead of the game when he wristed his 21st tally of the season from the left circle, over the glove of Mole for the 2-1 Hershey lead. Sami Lepisto and Staffan Kronwall had the assists on the go-ahead goal coming 13:32 into the second period. Three minutes later, while on the man-advantage, the Bears would go up 3-1 on Giroux's league leading 47th marker of the season. Mathieu Perrault and Chris Bourque had the assists to the goal.
MacDonald would pull the Sound Tigers within a goal 16:27 into the third period. Sim feathered a cross-ice pass to MacDonald at the left point where he cranked a slap-shot past the glove of Hershey starting net-minder, Daren Machesney. Ben Walter also had an assist on MacDonald's seventh tally of the season to cut the Bears lead to 3-2.
Mole finished the game with 23 saves on 26 shots while Machesney earned the win, stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced. The Sound Tigers scored both their goals on the power-play, going 2-for-9 in the game on the man-advantage and 3-for-4 on the penalty-kill.
The Sound Tigers will return home next weekend for three straight home games against Atlantic Division foes, starting on Friday at 7 p.m. against the Worcester Sharks. The following night, the Providence Bruins will pay their one and only visit to Arena at Harbor Yard. Face-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday, the Sound Tigers will finish the weekend against the Portland Pirates at 4 p.m. on Jeff Tambellini Bobble-Head Doll Day. For tickets or information on how to receive group discounted tickets, contact the team's front office at (203) 334-GOAL or e-mail info@soundtigers.com.
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