BEARS RALLY BUT FALL IN FIRST OF TWO IN PORTLAND

October 17, 2015

PORTLAND, ME – Logan Shaw scored two of the Portland Pirates’ three second-period goals on the power play and Mike McKenna turned aside all 15 shots faced in the third period, helping the hosts hold off a furious Hershey Bears rally and skate to a 3-2 victory on Saturday night at Cross Insurance Arena.

The Bears again struck for the game’s first goal and it was one that took the air out of the building.  Portland embarked on the first power play of the night, but it was Dustin Gazley to get the scoring started while the Bears skated shorthanded.  Liam O’Brien fed Gazley a head-man pass, and Gazley took a shot that was blocked right back to him.  His second chance found the net behind McKenna’s blocker at 6:30.

Portland later fended off a five-on-three chance for the Bears to remain within one goal at the intermission.

The Pirates would come out storming in a chippy second period, and force the Bears to play catch-up for the first time this season.  Logan Shaw would tie the game, stuffing the rebound of a shot from Brent Regner underneath Justin Peters for a power-play goal at 2:42.

Shaw tallied again on another power play just over seven minutes later.  Garrett Wilson took a tricky shot from the left circle that bounced off of Peters and slid to the left of his goal crease.  Shaw pounced on the puck and fired it into the net at 9:46 for a 2-1 Pirates lead.

Jakub Vrana then scored a power play goal for the Bears to knot the score.  Chris Bourque would feed Vrana for a perfect one-timer that blew past McKenna on the short side at 15:51.

But again, the Pirates grabbed the momentum right back as Wade Megan was able to beat a Bears defenseman to the outside, cut toward Peters and tuck a backhander inside the far post with 1:07 left in the frame.

Three players were handed misconducts during a late-period altercation.

Megan’s goal would prove enough, as McKenna swept aside everything that the Bears threw to his crease and preserved the win.

Peters suffers his first loss of the season, making 21 saves on 24 shots.  McKenna wins his first of the year with 24 saves on 26 Hershey chances.

The Bears finished the night 1-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.

The two teams face off again tomorrow afternoon at Cross Insurance Arena.  Puck drop is set for 3:00 PM, and fans may catch the broadcast on the Bears Radio Network of affiliates WQIC-FM 100.1, WTKT-AM 1460 and WOYK-AM 1350, online at foxsports1460.com or via the iHeartRadio app for smartphones (Fox Sports 1460) beginning with the M&C Foreign Car Parts pre-game show at 2:20. 

The Bears open the home portion of the schedule on Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 PM against the Hartford Wolf Pack.  The first 8,000 fans will receive a magnetic schedule courtesy of PNC Bank.  The 1980 Calder Cup championship team will be honored prior to the game in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the title.  The Bears will also wear special throwback jerseys, which will be auctioned off live following the game.

Individual tickets for this and all Bears home games may be purchased at the GIANT Center box office, by calling (717) 508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.

NOTES: ; The Bears scratched D Christian Djoos and RW Caleb Herbert…The Pirates scratched D Josh Brown, C Corban Knight, C Brett Olson, RW Vinny Saponari and D Yann Sauve…Jakub Vrana’s goal was his first career regular-season tally, after scoring his first two AHL goals in the 2015 Calder Cup playoffs.