Penguins Finally Solve Bears in Hershey
Published on December 7, 2014 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
HERSHEY, Pa. - Derrick Pouliot scored two goals and Jeff Zatkoff made 30 saves to spoil Steve Oleksy's teddy bear toss goal, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins snapped an eight-game winless skid at GIANT Center with a 3-2 win over the Hershey Bears on Sunday night.
It took all of 39 seconds for Hershey to get on the board. Chris Conner would lead a rush into the Wilkes- Barre/Scranton zone, and while double-teamed, slid the puck around the back boards to Tim Kennedy. A quick pass to the right circle was directly in the wheel house of Oleksy, who blasted a one-timer past the blocker of Zatkoff for a 1-0 lead. The goal brought 17,295 stuffed toys onto the GIANT Center ice.
Following the cleanup delay, the Penguins came out with a hard effort and tied the game when Pouliot one-timed a pass from Tom Kostopoulos behind Philipp Grubauer at 5:01.
Hershey got the lead back just 2:57 into the second. The Bears earned a short power play after a four- on-four situation, and Stanislav Galiev made it count by sending a snap shot from the slot beyond Zatkoff's reach.
The lead lasted just 1:03, as the Penguins answered right back. A failed Hershey clear brought the puck to the right point. Defenseman Alex Boak sent a low shot to the net that deflected off of the skate of Bobby Farnham and inside the right post.
Pouliot's second of the game, a slap shot from the center point, eluded Grubauer for the Penguins' first power play goal in 26 tries in the season series. The goal ended up as the winner, as Zatkoff went on a run in stopping all 15 Hershey shots in the final period.
The Penguins reclaim the East Division lead with the win, their first in regulation against the Bears this season.
Zatkoff improved to 7-5-1 on the season, while Grubauer dropped to 9-6-2 in stopping 23 of 26 shots.
The Bears head back on the road next Friday, December 12, for a 7:00 face-off against the Syracuse Crunch at the Onondaga County War Memorial. Fans may listen to the game on the Bears Radio Network of affiliates WQIC-FM 100.1, WTKT-AM 1460 and iHeart Radio (1460 AM).
The Bears return home to face the Binghamton Senators for the first time this season on Saturday, December 13 with puck drop at 7:00 PM. The first 5,000 fans will receive a Dane Byers bobblehead figurine, courtesy of UGI. Individual tickets for this and all remaining home games are available at the GIANT Center box office, online at TicketMaster.com or by calling 717-508-BEAR.
NOTES: The Bears scratched D Michal Cajkovsky, LW Philippe Cornet, D Mike Moore, C Kris Newbury, LW Tim Spencer and D Patrick Wey...C Liam O'Brien was assigned by Washington earlier in the day and made his AHL and Hershey debut...The Penguins scratched D Taylor Chorney, C Nick Drazenovic, LW Sahir Gill, D Clark Seymour and LW Anton Zlobin...The Bears finished the night 1-for-7 on the power play and 7-for-8 on the penalty kill... Three stars: 3-Conner, 2-Kostopoulos, 1-Pouliot.
American Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2014
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- Admirals Fall 2-1 to Griffins in Shoot-Out - Milwaukee Admirals
- Griffins Top Admirals in First Shootout of Season - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Penguins Reclaim First Place with 3-2 Win over Bears - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Penguins Finally Solve Bears in Hershey - Hershey Bears
- Monsters Top Rockford 4-3 in OT for Fourth Straight Win - Cleveland Monsters
- Wolves Trumped 2-1 by Mancari and Rampage - Chicago Wolves
- Big Day for Akeson Drives Sunday Win at Bridgeport - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Wolf Pack Snap Binghamton's Streak - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Devils Shut out by Flames - Albany Devils
- Monarchs Sweep Norfolk with 5-2 Win - Manchester Monarchs
- Amerks Close out Weekend with 3-0 Loss to Marlies - Rochester Americans
- Marlies Shutout Americans 3-0 - Toronto Marlies
- Bridgeport Splits Home-and-Home - Bridgeport Islanders
- Admirals End Road Swing with Setback in Manchester - Norfolk Admirals
- Pirates Fall 3-2 to Bruins, Streak Comes to An End - Portland Pirates
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- Win Streak Ends with 4-2 Loss in Hartford - Binghamton Senators
- Coyotes Assign Campbell to Portland - Portland Pirates
- Rockford Regroups for Monster Matinee - Rockford IceHogs
- American Hockey League Announces Suspension - AHL
- Terry Recalled from AHL Conditioning Stint - Charlotte Checkers
- Capitals Re-Assign Liam O'Brien to Hershey - Hershey Bears
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