SABOURIN STONES SOUND TIGERS IN 5-0 WIN

December 18, 2011

HERSHEY, Pa. – Dany Sabourin turned aside 32 shots to back up a power play that scored three times on six chances, as the HERSHEY BEARS cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday night at GIANT Center.

The BEARS earned the first power play of the game and made the Sound Tigers pay when Chris Bourque hurried a pass to the left circle. Christian Hanson found the pass, turned around and fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Sound Tigers netminder Kevin Poulin for a 1-0 lead at 8:56.

Just two minutes later, the Sound Tigers misplayed the puck in their own zone, leading to a Boyd Kane breakaway from center ice. Kane beat Poulin high over the glove at 10:54, giving the BEARS a 2-0 advantage.

After killing three penalties in the second frame, including 1:01 of a two-man Bridgeport advantage, the BEARS converted their third goal when Matt Ford jammed a Jacob Micflikier pass behind Poulin at 17:21.

HERSHEY put the game away with two more power-play goals in the third period, each by Ryan Potulny. His first came at 4:04 when he fired a shot over the shoulder of Poulin to give HERSHEY a 4-0 lead. Potulny then saw a Patrick McNeill blast from the center point deflect off his leg in the high slot past Poulin at 9:01 to complete the scoring.

Sabourin’s second shutout of the season moves his record to 7-4-1, while Poulin falls to 6-8-0 with 18 saves on 23 shots. The BEARS ended the night 3-for-6 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.

HERSHEY slides back into first place in the East Division with the win, improving to 16-7-3-2.

The BEARS remain home tomorrow, December 18 to take on the Norfolk Admirals at 5:00 PM. The first 3,000 fans will receive a gift card to the Turkey Hill Experience. Individual tickets for this and all regular-season home games are on sale now by calling (717) 508-BEAR, or by visiting ticketmaster.com.

HERSHEY BEARS season ticket plans are also on sale now by calling (717) 508-BEAR, with many different flexible plans still available. Season ticket plans start as low as $160.

Game Recap: http://theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1009049