SABOURIN SHINES IN ST. PATRICK'S DAY SHOOTOUT

March 17, 2012

HERSHEY, Pa. – Tomas Kundratek scored the first goal of the game as well as the equalizer late in regulation, and Dany Sabourin stopped four out of five in the shootout to help the HERSHEY BEARS earn their fourth consecutive home victory, 3-2 over the Albany Devils on Saturday night at GIANT Center.

Kundratek got things started by scoring the game’s first goal for the second consecutive night.  His slap shot from the left point changed direction off of a Devils player in front, slowed down and slid through the pads of Albany goaltender Keith Kinkaid at 10:37 of the first.

The Devils then tied the score in the second period when Matt Anderson held the puck on a two-on-one rush and beat Sabourin with a wrist shot at 9:10.  Just under five minutes later, with the BEARS working their third power play of the game, Stephen Gionta created a turnover high in the BEARS’ offensive zone and took off on another odd-man rush.  His pass across the slot was deflected underneath Sabourin’s pads, but the puck came loose and Brad Mills tapped it in from the goal line at 13:57 to give the Devils a 2-1 lead.

The lead held all the way until late in the third, when Kyle Greentree took an apparent high stick.  On the delayed penalty, the puck never left the offensive zone, leaving Ryan Potulny and Boyd Kane alone to put a scoring chance on Kinkaid.  The netminder stood tall but Kundratek swooped in to deposit the puck into the net from the hash marks with 4:00 left in regulation.

After an exciting and scoreless overtime, the BEARS would get goals from Cody Eakin and Kane in the shootout and the big stops from Sabourin to earn the comeback victory.

Sabourin improves to 13-9-4 with the win, while Kinkaid made 37 saves but dropped to 15-16-3.  The BEARS finished the night 0-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.  The BEARS hold fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 33-20-4-6 (76 points).

The two teams will travel to the Capital District for a 4:00 PM rematch tomorrow at the Times Union Center.  The BEARS will welcome the St. John’s IceCaps for the first time on Wednesday, March 21 at 7:00 PM.  Tickets for this and all regular-season home games are on sale by calling (717) 508-BEAR, or by visiting ticketmaster.com.

Game Recap:  http://theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1009580
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