BEARS DEFEAT SOUND TIGERS, CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH

March 29, 2015

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Jim O’Brien scored with 2:29 left in regulation, stopping a Bridgeport Sound Tigers comeback attempt and sending the Hershey Bears to a 4-3 victory on Sunday afternoon at Webster Bank Arena.  With the win, the Bears become the second team in the AHL to clinch a berth in the 2015 Calder Cup playoffs.
 
A major penalty for boarding against Bridgeport’s Sebastien Collberg would be the story of the opening period, as the Bears would cash in twice in the five minutes.  Stan Galiev was the recipient of a nice cross-crease pass from Andre Burakovsky, and he made no mistake in one-timing the feed behind Kevin Poulin from a sharp angle at 6:46 for his 24th goal of the season and league-leading 14th on the power play.
 
Burakovsky would then make it 2-0 at the 9:13 mark with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.  Set up by Dmitry Orlov, Burakovsky picked the lower left corner of the net for his third goal of the season.
 
After a successful penalty kill and following a turnover, Bridgeport would get on the board.  Scott Mayfield unloaded a shot from the right point, and Alan Quine got a stick down to tip it past Pheonix Copley at 5:42.
 
But more penalties would cause trouble for Bridgeport.  John Persson and Colton Gillies would take penalties just 11 seconds apart, putting Hershey on a lengthy two-man advantage.  Casey Wellman struck on the five-on-three, faking a cross-ice pass and slipping a shot underneath Poulin at 8:58 from the left of the net.
 
The Sound Tigers came out with a strong effort in the third, and got one back at 3:46 on a power play.  Ryan Pulock unloaded a slap shot from the right point that sailed past Copley inside the right post, after taking a pass from Quine.
 
Nate Schmidt would then block a shot from Pulock and was slow to recover, allowing Bridgeport to keep the puck in zone.  Colton Gillies took a slap shot that missed the mark to the left, but the puck caromed off of the end boards to the right circle where Kael Mouillierat was there to fling it past Copley at 7:48.
 
After the fifth Bears penalty kill, Orlov was nearly picked by Sound Tigers forward Dustin Jeffrey.  But Dustin Gazley was nearby to prevent a takeaway and promptly jumped into a three-on-one rush.  Gazley carried to the bottom of the right circle and sent a pass across the crease where O’Brien slammed it past Poulin for the winner.  Bridgeport would get Poulin to the bench in favor of a sixth attacker, but Hershey held on for the win.
 
Copley made 31 saves for his sixth consecutive victory, and improved to 14-3-3 on the season.  Poulin made 16 saves and dropped to 16-19-7.
 
The Bears’ fourth consecutive road victory moves the club’s record to 42-19-5-2 (91 points).
 
The Bears return home to host the Worcester Sharks on Wednesday, April 1 at 7:00 PM.  All fans in attendance receive a complimentary one-day pass to HERSHEYPARK, valid through July 31, 2015.  Limited tickets remain for this game.  Individual tickets for this and all remaining home games are available at the GIANT Center box office, online at TicketMaster.com or by calling 717-508-BEAR.
 
Coupled with the Springfield Falcons’ loss against the Worcester Sharks, the Bears have secured a berth in the postseason.  Individual tickets for the Eastern Conference quarterfinal of the 2015 Calder Cup playoffs will go on sale on Tuesday, March 31 at 10:00 am at the GIANT Center box office, and by calling (717) 508-BEAR.
  
NOTES: The Bears scratched C Joel Broda, D Connor Carrick, LW Philippe Cornet, D Christian Djoos, D Tomas Kundratek, D Mike Moore, G Vitek Vanecek and LW Aaron Volpatti…The Sound Tigers scratched D Mark Louis, C Lukas Sutter and LW Harry Zolnierczyk…Hershey swept the season series from Bridgeport (4-0-0-0)…Hershey finished the night 3-for-6 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill…The Bears’ three power play goals were the highest production with the man advantage since January 21 at Lehigh Valley…RW Stan Galiev scored his ninth first-goal of the season, which leads the AHL…The Bears scored their league-leading 44th first-goal of the season, and are 31-10-3-0 when scoring first…The Bears finished March with a record of 8-5-0-0...G Pheonix Copley remains unbeaten in regulation in 2015 (9-0-2).