Hershey Falls 5-1 to Penguins Friday

January 6, 2017

(Wilkes-Barre, PA- January 6, 2017)- The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins scored two goals in 19 seconds in the opening period to set the tone in a 5-1 victory over the Hershey Bears on Friday night. The two teams rematch at the GIANT Center on Sunday at 5 p.m.  

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Tom Sestito opened the scoring at 6:48 of the first period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. The forward found himself behind the Hershey defense and raced in on a breakaway. Hershey goaltender Vitek Vanecek denied his first shot, but Sestito struck on the rebound for his second goal of the season.

Only 19 seconds later, Sestito setup Teddy Blueger for a goal to make it 2-0 Penguins. Sesito’s pass hit a body and deflected to Blueger in the slot. The forward snapped a shot past the blocker of Vanecek for his third goal of the year. 

In the second period, the Penguins scored three more times to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Garrett Wilson scored at 3:16, capitalizing on a turnover right in front of the Hershey net. The goal ended the night of Vanecek who was removed in favor of Joe Cannata after surrendering three goals on 11 shots. 

Sestito would add his second goal at 6:21 of the middle frame, beating Cannata past the left pad to make it 4-0. At 12:00, Jake Guentzel added his AHL-leading 19th goal of the season, deflecting David Warsofsky’s shot past Cannata to make it 5-0.
 
Hershey pushed in the third period and broke netminder Casey DeSmith’s bid for a shutout. Darren Dietz connected for Hershey’s lone tally, scoring his second goal of the season at 9:04. Hershey’s forecheck jammed a loose puck out of a pile behind the net. Ryan Bourque fed Dietz in the slot, and the defender beat a startled DeSmith under the arm to make it 5-1. 
The Penguins outshot Hershey 30-27 in the victory. Hershey failed to extend its streak to nine straight games with a power play goal as they went 0-for-5 on the man advantage

Tomorrow Hershey hosts the Utica Comets at 7 p.m. It’s PSECU Knit Cap Night for the first 4,000 fans. It’s also Washington Capitals Night. On Sunday, January 8, the Penguins come to town for a 5 p.m. game at GIANT Center. The evening features a Jakub Vrana Labatt Blue Pint Glass giveaway to the first 3,000 fans and it’s also Girl Scout Night. Ticket information is available at HersheyBears.com.