Bears take down Falcons in Shootout

January 17, 2016

HERSHEY, Pa. – Riley Barber continued his hot hand against the Springfield Falcons with two goals and an assist, while Chris Bourque’s clutch tying goal extended his point streak and allowed the Bears to come back with a 4-3 shootout victory on Saturday night in front of 10,568 fans at GIANT Center.

The Bears opened the scoring on a beautiful passing play that was started by Joey Leach.  He made a pass from the center point to the left circle for Travis Boyd, who placed it back across the crease for two jabs by Barber.  The second shot made its way behind Falcons backstop Marek Langhamer at 10:05 for a 1-0 lead.

But on the second power play of three given to the Falcons in the opening period, the visitors would tie the game.  A second chance to clear the zone was blocked by Alex Grant, taken to the net and shot behind Dan Ellis at 17:46.  Ellis would later make a sprawling stick save on Craig Cunningham to keep the game tied at the intermission.

Barber did it again in the second period, taking the puck to the net from the right wing on a power play and lifting a backhander past Langhamer at 4:38 to give the Bears a 2-1 lead.

The Falcons had the answer for that goal as well, as Craig Cunningham would feed Greg Carey on a two-on-one rush for the equalizer at 9:52.

Hershey’s penalty woes continued in the second, and the Falcons would take their first lead with 1:13 left in the frame.  Ellis would make two big stops before Christian Thomas deposited the rebound of a shot from Dustin Jeffrey into the net.

But on another Hershey power play chance in the third period, the hosts would knot the score.  Hard work by Barber and Chris Brown in the right corner knocked the puck loose.  It came to Bourque, who ripped a shot from the left circle past Langhamer’s glove at 12:53.

A thrilling overtime was highlighted by superb goaltending.  Ellis made a lunging toe save at one end, and Langhamer would rob Brown with a stick save on a shot from the left circle in the final minute.

Connor Carrick and Christian Djoos would net goals in the fourth and fifth rounds of the shootout, while Ellis would deny four of five, and the Bears skated off victorious.

Ellis stopped 33 of 36 shots through 65 minutes to earn his 12th win of the season (12-6-3).  Langhamer turned away 32 shots but fell to 1-2-1.  The Bears finished the night 2-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Hershey remains home to host the Springfield Falcons tomorrow, January 17 at 5:00 PM.  It’s the first-ever STAR WARS Night in Chocolatetown, as numerous characters will be on-site during the game.  Tickets are available at the GIANT Center box office, by calling 717-508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.

NOTES:  The Bears scratched D Mike Moore, C Chandler Stephenson and LW Jakub Vrana…The Falcons scratched RW Jon DiSalvatore, RW Phil Lane, D Daniel New, LW Henrik Samuelsson, C Brendan Shinnimin and D Derek Smith… NHL veteran Scott Gomez made his AHL debut in the game for Hershey…The shootout victory for the Bears was their second straight after the team dropped its first five…Chris Bourque’s point streak was extended to eight games with his goal (8-4-12), and his 18th goal of the season moved him into second place in the AHL...Riley Barber’s three-point night gives him five points (4-1-5) against the Falcons in two games…Defenseman Joey Leach earned his first point with the Bears with his first-period assist.