MONARCHS RALLY AND WIN GAME 3 BY A 3-2 FINAL IN OT

May 17, 2010

The BEARS watched a third period lead slip away Monday night, falling to the Manchester Monarchs 3-2 in overtime in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Alexandre Giroux would score a power play goal late in the first period to give HERSHEY a 1-0 lead after one, and Mathieu Perreault would strike for his fifth of the postseason early in the third period, but Manchester saves its best for last Monday night. John Zeiler would get the Monarchs on the scoreboard not long after Perreault’s goal, and Gabe Gauthier would fight through a scrum to score for the Monarchs to score at 7:22. For the sixth time this postseason, the BEARS went to overtime, but for the first time, they would not pull out a win. Justin Azevedo would take a pass from Dwight King and score at 2:43 of sudden death to complete the Manchester comeback. HERSHEY lost Monday for the first time in six overtime games this playoff year. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth lost his first game in nine decisions. BEARS Radio Network Three Stars of the game: 1. Justin Azevedo (Game-winning goal in overtime) 2. Alexandre Giroux (First goal of series, 11th of postseason) 3. John Zeiler (Goal in third period to start MCH comeback) Notes: Game 4 of the best-of-seven series will be Tuesday night in Manchester, just 24 hours after Monday’s Game 3 in the Granite State. Andrew Gordon missed the game with a lower body injury. He is listed as day-to-day. Simon Ferguson made his 2010 Calder Cup playoff debut in Monday’s game, as Boyd Kane moved to the top line. The Monarchs came into the game having never beaten HERSHEY in a Calder Cup playoff game (0-6). Former BEARS goaltender Ron Hextall, now the assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, attended the game, as well as former BEARS head coach/current Washington Capitals bench boss Bruce Boudreau.