Sports stats



AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins Edged by Bears, 2-1

December 6, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Bears forward Chris Conner netted two goals against his former team as Hershey held on for a 2-1 win against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. With the victory, the Bears pulled into a tie with the Penguins for first place in the East Division.

In a first period that was a tight-checking affair during even strength, the difference was a power play tally coming from Conner. The veteran right-winger was able to pull wide of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defense and drive to the front of the net before stuffing a shot past goaltender Matt Murray with 2:37 left until the intermission.

The scored stayed the same well into the second period before the Penguins hopped on their third power play of the contest. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton thought they had knotted the score when Bryan Rust tipped a point shot past Hershey goaltender Pheonix Copley, but officials ruled that the puck was played with a high-stick and the game remained at 1-0 in favor of the Bears.

A promising rush for the Penguins in the third instead turned into the second goal of the match for Conner. Conor Sheary's attempt to wrap the puck into the Hershey end caromed off a body and went straight back out to center ice where Conner started off on a mini-breakaway. The ensuing wrist shot to the top left corner of the Penguins net made the score, 2-0, for the Bears at 8:36 of the period.

Assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier in the day by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Rust got his team on the board with 4:44 left in regulation when he weaved through the Hershey defense and beat Copley with a shot between the pads. Clark Seymour, making his AHL debut for the Penguins, picked up an assist on Rust's eighth goal of the season.

Twice this season the Penguins had potted an extra-attacker goal to force overtime against the Bears, but there would be a third time as Tom Kuhnhackl's redirect of Rust's shot in the dying seconds of regulation rang off the post and stayed out of the net.

Murray suffered the loss and fell to 5-4-1 on the season, making 27 saves on 29 shots. Copley gathered his first win since Oct. 26 as he stopped 28-of-29.

The Penguins and Bears finish off their home-and-home series in Hershey on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 5:00 p.m. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is next on home ice on Friday, Dec. 12 when they battle the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Individual tickets for all Penguins home games are available at the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office, online at TicketMaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

Penguins season tickets, including full season, 22-game, 12-game and 10-ticket flex vouchers, are available directly through the Penguins ticket offices at 570-208-7367.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central