Comeback Effort Falls Short as Pirates Take Game One
April 22, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
PORTLAND,Maine - Tyler Lewingtonscored twice in the third period for the visiting Hershey Bears, but ShaneHarper's second goal of the night with less than 10 seconds left in regulationassured the Portland Pirates a 6-4 victory on Friday night at Cross InsuranceArena. The Pirates lead thebest-of-five Atlantic Division semifinal series one game to none.
Portland came out firing in the firstperiod, and took a 1-0 lead when Kyle Rau muscled a faceoff win to the net andtucked a shot under Dan Ellis' left pad at 6:11. The score could have been more lopsided, but momentsearlier, Ellis stopped Corban Knight on a breakaway and Rocco Grimaldi with aglove save from the slot. Defenseman Dylan Olsen also rang the crossbar with a slap shot from theleft point.
On a line rush, the Pirates took a 2-0lead when Matt MacKenzie centered a pass that Ryan Stanton deflected away. But the puck took a Pirates bounceright to Rob Schremp, who backhanded a shot past Ellis at 15:49.
After missing on four power playchances, the Bears would find themselves in a four-on-four situation late inthe period. Chris Bourque shoveleda pass between the Portland defense where Stanton was lurking. The blueliner hurried a snap shot overMike McKenna's glove with just under 14 seconds left in the period, puttingHershey on the board.
The Bears would kill off a two-manadvantage for Portland early in the middle frame, but again found themselvesdown by two when Brett Olson took an off-wing wrist shot that eluded Ellis overthe glove. Portland led 3-1 at14:08.
Once again however, Hershey had theanswer. A tired Christian Djooswould make a lunging poke-check to keep the puck on side. Travis Boyd grabbed it, whipped it intothe mid-slot and Jakub Vrana one-timed it home from there at 15:49.
Two goals separated by just 11 secondsgave Portland what appeared to be a comfortable cushion. With Hershey unable to get out of theirzone, Harper made a move toward the low slot before backhanding a shot pastEllis at 3:12, putting the Pirates in front 4-2. Off of the ensuing faceoff, Schremp would fire from the slotand beat a screened Ellis for a 5-2 advantage.
After the Bears took their timeout, thevisitors would turn up the pressure. Lewington's first goal came on a blast from the point that dropped underMcKenna's glove at 7:49. His secondwould come on hard forechecking work behind the net by Boyd. Aaron Ness would collect the puck atthe right point and deke a Pirates defender before centering from the rightcorner. Lewington stepped into aslapper from the right circle and beat McKenna between the pads at 15:14,cutting the Portland lead to 5-4.
But a Chris Bourque slashing penaltywith just under a minute left in regulation would give Portland the puck forthe rest of the contest. Harperset up at the left side of Ellis' crease and one-timed a feed from Rau overEllis' blocker at 19:50, sealing the win.
Ellis made 26 saves on 32 shots, while McKenna got the winwith 28 saves on 32 shots.
The teams will play game two of the series tomorrow, April 23 at 7:00 PM. Fans may catch the broadcast beginningat 6:20 PM on the Bears Radio Network of affiliates WQIC-FM 100.1, WKBO-AM1230, via the iHeartRadio App (WHP 580 Harrisburg) or online atWHP580.com. Fans may also watchthe game live for a small fee at AHLLive.com.
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