McNEILL SCORES ONE, SETS UP ANOTHER AS BEARS SWEEP WEEKEND

March 18, 2012

ALBANY, New York – Patrick McNeill registered a goal and an assist, Chris Bourque posted two helpers, Boyd Kane scored twice and Dany Sabourin stopped 24 shots as the HERSHEY BEARS completed their three-game in three-night stretch with a 4-1 win over the Albany Devils on Sunday afternoon at Times Union Center.  The win helped the BEARS sweep the home-and-home set from the Devils, as well as all three games of the weekend.

The BEARS got things started for the third consecutive night with a goal by a defenseman.  Zach Miskovic started the play by firing a slap shot from the right point that Devils goaltender Jeff Frazee kicked all the way out to the left point.  Patrick McNeill one-timed the rebound from long range over Frazee’s shoulder for the 1-0 lead at 11:42.

Maxime Lacroix extended the BEARS’ lead to 2-0 at 16:31, when he stood untouched at the top of Frazee’s crease and tapped in a pass from Daniel Koger.  The point was Koger’s first with HERSHEY.

The Devils finally got on the board at 17:41, when Vladimir Zharkov poked the puck loose in the neutral zone, skated over the blue line and took a snap shot through a screen that got by Sabourin’s blocker.

The Devils pressured relentlessly for the tying goal in the second, but were unable to find the equalizer.  Matt Anderson had the Devils’ best chance, but missed an open net from the bottom of the right circle.

The visitors then took a 3-1 lead on a power-play goal from Boyd Kane with 54 seconds left in the middle frame.  With Tim Sestito off for roughing, the BEARS set up the puck at the right point.  Chris Bourque fired a slapper into traffic, and Kane got enough of it to tip it through Frazee’s pads at 19:06.  Kane sealed the victory with an empty-netter with under 13 seconds remaining in the contest.

Sabourin started all three games this weekend and won them all, improving to 14-9-4.  Frazee stopped 20 shots and fell to 10-16-2.  The BEARS finished the night 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

With the win, the BEARS remain in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 34-20-4-6 (78 points).

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 remaining 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=1009590

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