PIRATES EDGE BEARS 3-2 TUESDAY IN A SHOOTOUT

March 8, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2011 CONTACT: â€" HERSHEY BEARS â€" PIRATES RALLY TO EDGE BEARS 3-2 IN A SHOOTOUT TUESDAY IN MAINE MCNEILL’S POWER PLAY GOAL LATE FORCES OVERTIME, BEARS IN WORCESTER WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT DCU CENTER The BEARS rallied to tie Portland late in the third period Tuesday night, but fell in a shootout 3-2 to the Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Mathieu Perreault opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 5:06 mark of the first period, giving the BEARS a 1-0 lead. Perreault carried the puck through center and slipped through the Portland defense to score on Pirate goaltender David Leggio, giving HERSHEY the early lead. The game remained 1-0 heading to the third period, but the Pirates would rally. Mark Voakes tied the game for Portland in the third period at the 2:58 mark, wrecking Nolan Schaefer’s shutout bid. Voakes scored from in close to tie the game at 1-1. Corey Tropp then scored the go-ahead goal at 15:15 on the power play to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead late, setting the stage for Patrick McNeill. With HERSHEY on a four-on-three power play, McNeill fired home his fourth goal of the season at 18:28. McNeill’s shot came from the top of the left circle, and beat Leggio short side to eventually force overtime. After a scoreless sudden death, Portland won the game in a shootout, scoring twice on three shots against Schaefer, while Leggio stopped all four attempts from HERSHEY shooters. BEARS Radio Network Three Stars of the game: 1. Corey Tropp (Third period goal) 2. David Leggio (30 saves and the win) 3. Nolan Schaefer (28 saves on 30 shots in 65 minutes) Notes: HERSHEY travels to Worcester to play the Sharks at the DCU Center Wednesday night. Faceoff is at 7:00 p.m. with airtime 6:30 p.m. on the BEARS Radio Network. Andrew Sarauer made his HERSHEY debut in the game, one day after signing a pro tryout contract. The BEARS have 15 regular season games remaining, and will have just 11 left after completing five games in six nights Sunday at home vs. Norfolk. Tickets for Sunday’s game against the Admirals are on sale now at the Giant Center box office, or by calling (717) 534-3911.