AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Win Battle against Penguins

Published on April 10, 2016 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Chris Bourque posted four points on the night, Garrett Mitchell tallied two goals and one assist and Justin Peters made 33 saves, all contributing to a 5-3 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Sunday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Ryan Bourque got the Bears started with his first goal with the Chocolate and White. Jakub Vrana would make the play happen by banking the puck around a Penguins defenseman with one hand and taking off two-on-one with Bourque. Vrana landed a saucer pass perfectly on Bourque's stick, and the winger hit paydirt with a snap shot over Casey DeSmith's glove at 5:10.

The teams battled for a long time until the next goal, which Mitchell tallied at 11:39 of the second period. Travis Boyd fed a pass to the right wing for Mitchell, who attempted a centering pass to Chris Bourque. The puck slid along the goal line and banked into the net between DeSmith's pads for a 2-0 Hershey advantage.

But after being frustrated all game long by Peters, the Penguins finally got on the board. With Madison Bowey serving a hooking minor, Dustin Jeffrey sent a slap-pass toward the slot. Kael Mouillierat angled it over Peters' stick with 7.1 seconds left in the period, cutting the Hershey lead to 2-1.

The Penguins battled to tie the game in the third period. Will O'Neill made a long pass from his own end toward the Hershey bench, and with the Bears protecting against having too many men on the ice, Dominik Simon found a lane to the net and slipped a shot past Peters at 13:13.

Mitchell's second of the game came from hard work at the net front. Chris Bourque's shot from the right side bounced off of DeSmith, and Mitchell won the puck battle to chip it home at 14:14 for a 3-2 lead.

But the Penguins would then capitalize on another Bears penalty to again knot the score. A shot by Jeffrey from the right circle was blocked, but the puck bounced to the left side for an easy slam dunk by Carter Rowney at 15:42.

With the score tied 3-3, Hershey cycled the puck around the net and worked it to the right circle. Chris Bourque found Chandler Stephenson untouched in the low slot, and Stephenson ripped the puck past DeSmith with 1:51 left in regulation.

Bourque capped off his four-point night by laying his stick down to steal a centering pass, skating out of the zone and wiring a long shot into the empty net at 19:28.

Peters improved to 16-8-7 on the season, while DeSmith dropped to 1-1-0 with 18 saves on 22 shots. The Bears finished the night 0-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.

The Bears head north to take on the Binghamton Senators on Friday, April 15 at 7:05 PM. Fans may catch the broadcast beginning at 6:25 PM on the Bears Radio Network of affiliates WQIC-FM 100.1, WKBO-AM 1230, WOYK-AM 1350 or online at WHP580.com. Fans may watch the game for a small fee at AHLLive.com.

The Bears return home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, April 16. The first 5,000 fans will receive a Chris Bourque garden gnome figurine courtesy of Capital BlueCross. Individual tickets are available at the GIANT Center box office, by calling 717-508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.

NOTES: Chris Bourque put forth the third four-point game by a Hershey player this season to maintain the AHL scoring lead...Bourque's goal gave him his first career 30-goal season...Travis Boyd became the Bears' third player to surpass 50 points (20-31-51) and became the league's seventh rookie to do so...The Bears need two more points to clinch the Atlantic Division title...The Washington Capitals recalled forward Zach Sill on an emergency basis earlier in the day...The Bears scratched LW Paul Carey, G Adam Carlson, LW Kevin Elgestal, LW Dylan Margonari and LW Nathan Walker...The Penguins scratched RW Tyler Biggs, C Jarrett Burton, LW Sahir Gill, D Barry Goers, G Tristan Jarry, G Sean Maguire, D Harrison Ruopp, LW Tom Sestito and LW Dominik Uher.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 10, 2016


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