Bears Force Overtime, Fall 6-5 to Penguins

January 8, 2017

(Hershey, PA- January 8, 2017)-The Hershey Bears tied the game with eight seconds to play in regulation, but David Warsofsky scored 1:55 into overtime to earn the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 6-5 win at GIANT Center on Sunday evening. A pair of goals from Stan Galiev and Zach Sanford paced Hershey, but the Penguins earned their third overtime win in Hershey this season.
 
After Hershey jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening period, the game went back and forth. The Bears found themselves in 5-4 hole after the Penguins’ Garrett Wilson scored on the power play with just 2:04 remaining in regulation.  In desperation mode, Hershey pulled netminder Vitek Vanecek for the extra attacker. A shot from Chris Bourque from the right wing missed the net, but Hershey recollected the puck behind the goal. Travis Boyd fed Sanford in the slot and the forward beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Casey DeSmith with eight seconds to play to force overtime.
 
In the extra session, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defender David Warsofsky scored his second goal of the game to drop the Bears to 1-7 in overtime. Warsofsky beat Vanecek from an impossible angle, scoring from the goal line to give the Penguins the 6-5 victory. The goal was Warsofsky's second of the game as the blue liner also scored on the power play at 12:48 of the third period.
 
The high-scoring game saw six goals in the third period of action. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Derrick Pouliot led the charge in the third period, notching a goal and two assists in the frame, including setting up Wilson for the late go-ahead goal. Hershey's Christian Thomas also scored in the third period, notching his team-leading 9th power play goal of the season. 
 
Hershey’s Chris Bourque assisted on Sanford’s first period power play goal, giving him his 400th career AHL assist. He is the 34th player in AHL history to reach that mark. 
 
The Bears are winless in four straight games. Hershey was outshot 37-25 in the game and went 2-for-6 on the power play. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was 2-for-7. Hershey is now 2-2-3-0 versus its in-state rival this season. 
 
The Bears return to action next Friday at Lehigh Valley as they visit the rival Phantoms at 7:05 p.m. The game may be heard on the Bears Radio Network. The Bears return home to host the Phantoms on Saturday, January 14 at the GIANT Center for Scout Night. Sunday, January 15 is STAR WARS Night featuring a STAR WARS jersey auction as Hershey hosts Binghamton at 5 p.m. Ticket information is available at HersheyBears.com.