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AHL Hershey Bears

Sabourin Backstops Bears to Victory

March 24, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


WORCESTER, Mass. - Dany Sabourin made 32 saves, Patrick McNeill and Chay Genoway contributed two points each from the blue line, and Joey Crabb picked up his first point with the HERSHEY BEARS in a 4-1 victory over the Worcester Sharks on Sunday afternoon at DCU Center.

For the second consecutive day, video replay would work in the Bears' favor after the Sharks attempted a bank shot off of Sabourin's right pad while working their first power play of the game. The puck was determined to have hit the goal post and never crossed the line.

Hershey took that momentum and grabbed the game's first goal when Crabb won a puck battle along the left half wall. He pulled the puck off of the boards for Nicolas Deschamps, who redirected a pass for the trailing McNeill. The defenseman then ripped a one-timer from the slot past the glove of Sharks goaltender Harri Sateri at 5:22.

McNeill then contributed to a fluke goal just over three minutes later that gave the Bears a 2-0 advantage. His dump-in toward the left corner deflected off of the glass and back out in front. With Sateri behind the net trying to knock the puck down, Matt Pope had a vacant goal in which to deposit his second strike of the season at 8:28.

Hershey extended its lead to 3-0 when Casey Wellman turned and fired a low-rolling slap shot through traffic and past Sateri just as a penalty to Sharks forward John McCarthy expired.

Sabourin made a big right-pad save on Jon Matsumoto just as time was about to expire in the second period. But Worcester would finally solve the Bears' backstop at 6:19 of the third. McCarthy worked the puck across the high slot to Derek Joslin, who floated a wrist shot over Sabourin's glove.

The Bears would fight right back and re-claim their three-goal lead on a strong play by Garrett Mitchell. After Ryan Stoa fed him the puck, Mitchell carried the puck on his backhand down the left wing and toward the corner. He got a beat on defenseman Matt Tennyson and powered toward the net, tucking a forehand shot inside the right post at 8:29 to round out the scoring.

With the win, Sabourin improves to 9-10-3 on the season. Sateri made 15 shots on 19 saves but fell to 14-15-3. The Bears finished the night 0-for-1 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

The club will return home on Saturday, March 30 for a 7:00 PM matchup against the Providence Bruins. All fans in attendance will receive a ticket to Pocono International Raceway for the June 8th NASCAR Event Weekend, and all fans will also have the opportunity to come down onto the ice post-game for the Dietz and Watson Ham Shoot and a chance to win Easter food items.

Tickets for the three remaining BEARS home games may be purchased at the GIANT Center box office, by calling (717) 508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.

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