PIRATES RALLY TO EDGE HERSHEY IN OVERTIME 4-3

March 19, 2011

PIRATES EDGE BEARS, 4-3 By: Sarah Sechrist HERSHEY FALLS TO PORTLAND IN OVERTIME ON SATURDAY NIGHT Saturday night�s game was a hard fought match-up between two heavyweight second place teams. Portland, currently one point out of first place in the Atlantic Division and Hershey, currently seven points out of the top spot in the Eastern division, faced off for the final time of the 2010-2011 regular season. HERSHEY Captain, Andrew Joudrey, got the BEARS on the board first when he scored his seventh of the season just 1:34 into the first. At 6:11, Portland�s Matt Ellis answered back from in close on HERSHEY goaltender Braden Holtby. Patrick McNeill rounded out the first period with a tip-in from inside the crease at 9:16. With 20 minutes in the books, the BEARS went to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead. It was Andrew Gordon who recorded the first goal of the second period, scoring his 23rd of the year from the top of the goal crease at 8:08. Portland would retaliate at 14:37, when Paul Byron beat Holtby on a semi-breakaway. The only goal of the third period came at 14:10 when TJ Brennan netted a wrister from the top of the right circle on the power play. With the score tied at three a piece, sudden death overtime would be necessary to determine the winner. Although the BEARS looked determined, Portland�s Mark Parrish finished things off with the game winning goal at 2:51 of overtime play. Bears fall at home; 4-3 the final score. �We were missing a level of intensity,� said Head Coach Mark French during the post-game press conference. �When you are playing a good team, the margin for error is small.� Stars of the Game: 1.) Mark Parrish, Portland 2.) Patrick McNeill, Hershey 3.) Boyd Kane, Hershey Notes: The BEARS are back at home tomorrow, taking on the Syracuse Crunch at 5 pm. Tickets are on sale at the Giant Center box office or by calling (717) 534-3911. HERSHEY will travel to Adirondak to take on the Phantoms next Friday before returning home for two games against Albany (Saturday) and Wilkes-Barre Scranton (Sunday). Goaltender Braden Holtby was reassigned by Washington on Saturday morning and played his first game with the BEARS since February 23rd. After tonight, only ten games remain in the 2010-2011 regular season. Injury scratches on Saturday night were Dany Sabourin, Johann Kroll, Keith Aucoin, Lawrence Nycholat, Phil Oreskovic, Sheldon Souray, and Trevor Bruess. Giant Center attendance for Saturday night�s game was 10,737.