BEARS BATTLE BACK FOR POINT IN SHOOTOUT LOSS

November 10, 2013

HERSHEY, Pa. – Casey Wellman and John Mitchell scored third-period goals to help the Hershey Bears come back from a two-goal deficit and earn a point in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Binghamton Senators on Sunday evening at GIANT Center.

The Bears got on the board first with a key faceoff win by Peter LeBlanc. The puck came right to Josh Brittain, who one-timed a shot over the glove of Binghamton backstop Andrew Hammond at 6:18.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau would get his first goal since returning from NHL Ottawa at the 12:33 mark. Pageau snuck toward the right post, and Mike Hoffman spotted him with a pass from the left corner for a slam dunk past Philipp Grubauer.

Binghamton would take control in the second period, getting their first lead of the game on Pageau’s second goal of the contest. While on a power play, Mark Stone fed the slot where Pageau teed up a slap shot that beat Grubauer over the glove at 4:52.

Darren Kramer made it a 3-1 game at 13:50, after tipping a shot from the top of the goal crease over Grubauer’s left pad.

Mitchell would then place a hard hit on Senators defenseman Chris Wideman late in the second period. Wideman then chased Mitchell down and was assessed a match penalty for slashing with 6.3 seconds left in the frame, giving the Bears five minutes of power play time. With 1.5 seconds left, Jeff Taffe was able to stuff the rebound of a shot from Dane Byers underneath Hammond, bringing the Bears within one at the intermission.

Instead of tying the contest, the Bears would find themselves down by two goals again while working the same power play. Pageau and Buddy Robinson would skate two-on-two into the Bears’ zone. Pageau skated around Grubauer’s net and left the puck in front for Robinson to slam home at 4:12 of the third.

The Bears would then strike twice on special teams to knot the score in entertaining fashion. Wellman brought the Bears back within a goal while the Bears worked a man advantage. His shot from the bottom of the left circle squeezed through Hammond at 7:39, for Wellman’s second goal of the year.

The Senators then had a chance to go back in front with their seventh power play of the game, but it would be Hershey with the answer. Mitchell would carry the puck himself down the right wing, turn up speed and cut toward the net. He deked across the crease and slid a backhand shot home at 16:12.

 The Bears will now head to North Carolina to battle the Charlotte Checkers in a pair of games, beginning Wednesday, November 13 at 7:00 PM. Fans may listen to the game live on the Bears Radio Network of affiliates WQIC-FM 100.1, WTKT-AM 1460, WRBT-FM HD-2 94.9, and on the Bears mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

The Bears next home game is set for Saturday, November 23 at 7:00 PM against the Binghamton Senators. The first 5,000 fans will receive a car magnet courtesy of M&T Bank. 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 T.J. Syner, RW Joel Rechlicz and D Patrick Wellar…Hershey finished the night 2-for-7 on the power play and 6-for-7 on the penalty kill…Both Josh Brittain and John Mitchell scored their first Hershey goals in the game.