TWO IS ENOUGH FOR BEARS TO DEFEAT PENGUINS

December 7, 2014

WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Chris Conner scored both goals, Tim Kennedy set them both up and Pheonix Copley made 28 saves to help the Hershey Bears claim a 2-1 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Each team traded good scoring chances for most of the opening period.  The Bears’ best came when Garrett Mitchell chased down a loose puck and nearly created a two-on-none against Penguins goaltender Matt Murray.  But Reid McNeill was forced to take a slashing penalty to prevent the chance.  On the ensuing power play, former Penguins forward Conner made a stop-start move from the right circle, crashed the net and stuffed the puck under Murray at 17:23 for a 1-0 Hershey lead.

The Bears held the lead through the second period and into the intermission, with a perfect penalty kill and strong defense.  The visitors also caught a break at the 10:24 mark, when a wrist shot by Scott Harrington deflected past Copley, but was waved off as it was played by a high stick.

Conner padded the Hershey lead at 8:36 of the third, taking a feed from Kennedy and snapping a wrist shot into the upper-left corner past Murray.

Bryan Rust got the Penguins on the board with 4:44 left to play, dancing into the Hershey zone, fanning on a wrist shot and then putting his second chance along the ice and past Copley.

Hershey would hold serve on the Penguins’ late pressure, fending off two icing calls and getting a key faceoff win from Joel Broda with 6.9 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Copley improves to 4-3-0 with the win, while Murray made 27 saves on 29 shots in a strong effort but fell to 5-4-1.

Hershey snapped a five-game road winless skid in improving to 13-8-1-1, and reclaimed the East Division lead.  The Bears also remained perfect in regulation against the Penguins this season (4-0-1-0).

The Bears and Penguins will play again tomorrow, December 7 at 5:00 PM at GIANT Center.  The game features the annual WGAL and Northwest Savings Bank Teddy Bear Toss.  All fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed toy to toss onto the ice after the Bears score their first goal.

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.