BEARS MOUNT COMEBACK BUT FALL ONE SHORT IN WILKES-BARRE

November 30, 2015

WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Erik Burgdoerfer broke the Hershey Bears’ scoreless drought at Mohegan Sun Arena by scoring and setting up another goal, but the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fought off a late two-man disadvantage and went on to a 3-2 victory on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

An entertaining but scoreless opening period was highlighted by nice goaltending at both ends.  The Bears’ best chance came when Travis Boyd ripped a drop pass high toward the Penguin net, but Tristan Jarry came up with the glove save while in the butterfly.  Justin Peters made the save of the period when a Bears’ pass up the boards turned into a two-on-one.  Conor Sheary fired for the upper corner but Peters waved his glove hand up to deflect the puck away.

But it took just 26 seconds into the middle frame for the first goal.  Kevin Porter was sprung through the Hershey defense, and snuck a forehand-backhand shot under Peters’ left pad for a 1-0 lead.

Niclas Andersen made it 2-0 when his wrist shot from the right point sailed past Peters through a screen at 9:24, and on the Penguins’ second power play of the period, Jean-Sebastien Dea gave the Penguins a 3-0 lead on a soft backhander from in close.

Finally with time winding down in the period, Burgdoerfer scored the Bears’ first goal at Mohegan Sun Arena this season on a hard one-timer from the right circle, fed to him by Sean Collins.  He beat Jarry to the stick-side for his first tally of the campaign at 19:46.

Burgdoerfer then led Riley Barber down the right wing with a pass, and Barber fired a shot toward the net from near the goal line that caught Jarry leaning off the post.  The puck deflected into the net at 5:39, cutting the Bears’ deficit to one goal.

After the Bears killed off a double minor penalty against Paul Carey, the club turned up the pressure and got a big chance when the Penguins were tagged for having too many men on the ice with 2:26 left to play.  With Peters on the bench, the Bears had a great chance on a Chris Bourque one-timer but the puck sailed off of the crossbar and the Penguins held on for the win.

Peters saw his two-game win streak snapped and fell to 5-3-2 on the year, making 30 saves in a tremendous effort.  Jarry stayed perfect, improving to 6-0-0 in his six starts with 25 saves on 27 shots.  Hershey finished 0-for-2 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.

The Bears travel to Connecticut to begin the new month next Friday, December 5, when the club takes on the Hartford Wolf Pack from XL Center with face-off slated for 7:15 PM.  Fans may listen to the broadcast beginning with the M&C Foreign Car Parts pre-game show at 6:35 on the Bears Radio Network of affiliates WQIC-FM 100.1, WTKT-AM 1460, via the iHeartRadio app for smartphones (Fox Sports 1460 Harrisburg) and online at FoxSports1460.com.  The game will also be carried on Caps Radio 24/7, available via the Capitals app or online at CapsRadio247.com.  Fans may also watch the game online for a small fee at AHLLive.com. 

The Bears then return home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, December 5 at 7:00 PM.  The first 4,000 fans age 18 and older will receive a Pennsylvania Lottery coupon.  Individual tickets for this and all Bears home games are on sale at the GIANT Center box office, by calling 717-508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.

NOTES: ; The Bears scratched RW Caleb Herbert, RW Garrett Mitchell, LW Liam O’Brien, D Ryan Stanton and LW Jakub Vrana…The Penguins scratched RW Tyler Biggs, D Barry Goers, RW Tom Kuhnhackl and D Clark Seymour...Hershey finished November with a record of 6-3-0-3.