BRADEN AND THE BEARS THROTTLE PENGUINS 6-0

December 27, 2011

WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Braden Holtby made 28 saves for his second shutout of the season, Cody Eakin scored twice and four other players had multiple-point nights as the HERSHEY BEARS defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins by a 6-0 score on Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

The BEARS got the jump immediately after their first power play came to a close. With virtually no time spent in the Penguins’ zone, Matt Ford attempted a slap shot from the neutral zone. The shot was blocked by Carl Sneep but landed perfectly onto Kyle Greentree’s stick. The winger’s shot went wide and came out in front for Tomas Kundratek to slam home behind Brad Thiessen from the top of the crease at 2:35.

The BEARS made it 2-0 at 5:11 when Julien Brouillette’s turn-around slap shot from the left faceoff circle eluded Thiessen low along the ice.

After surviving defensive zone pressure from the Penguins, the BEARS earned their third power play of the night and capitalized. Chris Bourque hurried a pass to the right circle, where Ford was waiting to fire a perfect feed through the slot to Patrick McNeill. The blueliner had plenty of time to snap a shot over Thiessen’s blocker, giving the BEARS a 3-0 lead at 17:57.

There was no scoring in the second period, in which the Penguins held the BEARS to just three shots on goal. Holtby denied three point-blank chances in the period, including two pad saves with the netminder lying on his stomach. Penguins’ winger Eric Tangradi also hit the left goal post in the best offensive flurry of the game.

HERSHEY poured it on again in the third, scoring three times in a span of under seven minutes. Jacob Micflikier started things off by angling a rebound chance under the crossbar at 6:26, the team’s second power play goal of the night.

Eakin then wrapped up the win by first stuffing a rebound in from the top of the crease at 8:40, then deflecting a Sean Collins point shot past Thiessen at 13:15 to round out the scoring.

Holtby improves to 10-7-1 with the win, while Thiessen falls to 11-8-2 in turning aside 17 of 23 shots.

The BEARS went 2-for-6 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

The win vaults the BEARS to the top of the Eastern Conference, as the club improves to 18-8-3-2. The win was the team’s fifth consecutive win on the road, and tenth overall away from home.

The BEARS and Penguins will meet again tomorrow night at 7:00 PM at GIANT Center. The game is sold out with only standing-room areas available. Fans may call (717) 508-BEAR for more information, or to purchase tickets for Saturday, December 31 as the BEARS take on the Norfolk Admirals at 6:00 PM. Fans may also visit 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=1009091

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