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AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Three-Goal Second Period Enough to Beat Bears, 3-2

November 28, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Three goals in the second period were enough for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 10 games, as they outlasted the Hershey Bears, 3-2, on Saturday night.

After an admittedly sloppy opening period, the Penguins barnstormed the Bears in the second, outshooting their opponent, 14-4, and establishing a 3-0 lead.

"We didn't have [our game] in the first period, but I thought we did in the second," said Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan. "Kevin Porter, he wins a puck battle right at the red line off the face-off at the start of the second period. We go down and score shortly after. I knew right there that we were responding the right way."

Porter put the Penguins on the board first 26 seconds into the middle frame after accepting a breakaway feed from Will O'Neill and sliding a puck past Bears goalie Justin Peters.

Niclas Andersén blasted a shot from the point behind Peters at 9:24 of the same period to put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton up 2-0.

The Penguins capitalized on their second man advantage of the game for a 3-0 lead when Jean-Sébastien Dea's backhand shot slid across the goal line at 14:19 of the second. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rookie Dominik Simon had the secondary assist on Dea's power play marker, improving Simon's personal point streak to a career-high five games.

Hershey's Erik Burgdoerfer hoisted a shot from the right half wall over the shoulder of Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry to get his team on the board and make the score 3-1 with just 14 seconds remaining in the second period. Burgdoerfer's goal snapped a Bears scoreless drought against the Penguins after 129:34 of play that dates back to Mar. 14 of last season.

Riley Barber snuck a sharp angle through Jarry's pads and the post at 5:39 of the third period, and suddenly it was a one-goal game with the Penguins nursing a 3-2 lead.

"Sometimes, that's going to happen," Sullivan said of the goal Jarry allowed to Barber. "That's hockey. I've seen that happen to some of the best goalies in the world... I was really encouraged by the way [Jarry] responded to a goal he admittedly would have liked to have back. He made some key saves for us down the stretch."

For the second game in a row, the Penguins found themselves staring down a six-on-four man disadvantage in the final two minutes of regulation. Jarry and the rest of Penguins stood tall in the face of the Bears' last gas effort with Peters pulled in favor of an extra attacker, and held on for the 3-2 win to improve to 16-2-0-0 overall and 10-0-0-0 at home.

Jarry finished the night with 25 saves on 27 shots, improving his individual record to 6-0-0-0. Jarry is the only remaining rookie goalie in the AHL without a loss this season.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton returns to action next Friday, Dec. 4, when it puts its undefeated home record on the line against the team they started the streak against in the home opener: the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

The second meeting of the season between the Penguins and Phantoms is an Eyewitness News Fan Fridays game with $14 tickets and select draft beers available for $2 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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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.

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