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AHL Hershey Bears

Sprong Shines in Debut, Bears Blast Pens 5-1

February 29, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA - Daniel Sprong scored in his Hershey Bears debut, and Mike Sgarbossa returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 5 to help the Chocolate and White down the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 5-1, on Saturday night at Giant Center. Sgarbossa's three point night (two goals, one assist) extended his current assist and point streak to eight games dating back to Dec. 22, 2019.

Only 4:52 into the game, Hershey struck first on Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith. Garrett Pilon blocked a shot near his defensive blue line, and raced north for a breakaway. All alone, Pilon shook, rattled and scored upstairs for his 18th goal of the campaign. Later in the frame, Hershey doubled their advantage to 2-0 on Sprong's first goal as a Bear in his debut. From a sharp angle, Sprong batted the puck out of mid air and beat DeSmith short side at the 9:44 mark. The Bears possessed a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes with 13-9 shot advantage.

Before the first media stoppage in the middle period, Hershey scored twice only 1:59 apart to extend their cushion to 4-0, prompting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to burn their lone timeout. Creeping out of his net to handle the puck, DeSmith turned over the biscuit to a forechecking Sprong, who sent a net-front pass for Sgarbossa. At 4:17, Sgarbossa scored into an open frame for his 12th goal of the season. Shortly after, the Chocolate and White capitalized on another Pens defensive zone turnover. Matt Moulson setup Philippe Maillet for his 14th goal of the season at 6:16.

Hershey's penalty kill was tasked with nine attempts throughout the night, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton broke through once at 8:54. Bobby Nardella was whistled for slashing at 8:49, and only five seconds into the man-advantage, the Pens tallied their lone goal on Vitek Vanecek. Phil Varone snapped a face-off win back to David Warsofsky, who scored only five seconds into Nardella's minor. The Bears' eight successful penalty kills is a new season-high, surpassing a 7-for-9 performance on Dec. 1 in a 4-3 overtime win against Hartford. Later in the period, Sprong setup Sgarbossa for his second goal of the night at 15:39 to complete the scoring line. Shots after 40 minutes were 22-16 Hershey, and 28-25 Bears at the final horn. The Bears power play finished the night 0-for-2.

Beck Malenstyn left the game in the first period and did not return with an upper body injury. Vanecek earned his 69th career win in a Bears uniform, surpassing Claude Dufor for 9th all-time in wins by a Hershey Bears goaltender in franchise history.

The Bears record improves to 35-17-3-3 with 18 games remaining in the 2019-20 regular season.

The Hershey Bears return to action and conclude the weekend tomorrow night in a 5 PM puck drop against the Charlotte Checkers at Giant Center. It's Fairview Golf Course Bears Logo Chip Night. The first 4,000 fans will receive a Bears Logo Chip, courtesy of Fairview Golf Course. Ticket information is available online at HersheyBears.com.

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