BEARS DEFEAT SOUND TIGERS IN 10 ROUND SHOOTOUT

November 9, 2013

HERSHEY, Pa. – Dane Byers and Ryan Stoa each scored goals in regulation and in the shootout, and Philipp Grubauer made 35 saves to help the Hershey Bears get past the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3-2 on Saturday night at GIANT Center.

Byers got things going on the Bears’ first shot of the game. Just 18 seconds in, the Hershey captain put his stick blade down while stationed in the slot and ramped a Tyson Strachan slapper over the shoulder of Sound Tigers goaltender Anders Nilsson. The goal extended Byers’ point streak to five games.

Despite four power play chances in the middle frame – including a total of nearly two minutes of two-man advantage time – the Bears were unable to forge any further ahead as Nilsson stopped all nine shots he faced.

Stoa then managed to get the Bears a bit of breathing room, scoring on the team’s seventh power play of the game. Peter LeBlanc would send a hard pass from the right circle toward the front of the net, and Stoa was there to tap it past Nilsson at 2:56 of the third.

But Bridgeport would turn the tide, scoring early in the period and late to knot the score. Joey Diamond struck for a power play goal at the 4:13 mark, beating Grubauer on a breakaway after the Bears gambled on a shorthanded chance in the offensive zone.

Sound Tigers leading scorer Ryan Strome would then pick the upper-right corner from in close to tie the game. He collected a pass sent to him from behind the net by Johan Sundstrom and lifted the shot into a small area for his fourth of the season at 17:01.

The Bears outshot Bridgeport 6-2 in overtime, which started as a three-on-three for a short time. But Nilsson and Grubauer were up to the task.

The Bears would end up scoring on their first three attempts in the shootout, with goals from Casey Wellman, LeBlanc and Stoa. David Kolomatis, Jeff Taffe and Byers would all tally as well, and Grubauer’s tenth-round stop on Brett Gallant would seal the win.

Grubauer improves to 2-3-0 on the season, while Nilsson drops to 3-3-1. The Bears improve to 3-4-2-1 on the season.

The Bears will take on the Binghamton Senators for the first time this season tomorrow, November 10 at 5:00 PM. Individual tickets for this and all Hershey Bears home games are on sale at the GIANT Center box office, by calling (717) 508-BEAR or by visiting TicketMaster.com on the internet. Information on season tickets, group tickets and flex plans for the 2013-2014 Hershey Bears regular season is available by calling (717)508-BEAR.

NOTES: The Bears injury scratches were D Julien Brouillette and C Jamie Johnson…Healthy scratches were LW Nicolas Deschamps, LW John Mitchell, LW T.J. Syner and D Patrick Wellar…Hershey finished the night 1-for-9 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.