Bears Comeback Late, Top Phantoms in Shootout

November 10, 2019

The Hershey Bears concluded a home-and-home stretch with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Giant Center on Sunday night. The Bears snapped a 10-game drought without a power play goal, and rallied late to top the Phantoms, 3-2, in a shootout.

Similar to last night's contest at the PPL Center, Lehigh Valley scored the first period's only goal and led 1-0 after 20 minutes. At 14:32, Kyle Criscuolo chipped a quick shot past Vitek Vanecek after a centering pass from Greg Carey on the transition. Shots after one period were 10-7 Bears.

Next period, the Chocolate and White were granted their second power play chance of the night, and Philippe Maillet cashed in. T.J. Brennan was whistled for slashing at 3:11, and Maillet potted the rebound of a Matt Moulson shot only 31 seconds later. The Phantoms regained a one-goal edge before second intermission on another transition well executed transition play. Maksim Sushko sent a flat pass to the slot from the right face-off circle intended for Morgan Frost, who beat Vanecek five-hole for his fifth goal of the season. Shots after 40 minutes were 22-18 in favor of Hershey. 

Into the third period, Hershey erased their one-goal deficit with a late rally. Steve Whitney buried a centering pass from Chris McCarthy low to the ice at 17:16 to force overtime for a second straight night. Unlike last night in Allentown, the sudden-death overtime period did not solve the score. A shootout was required, and Mike Sgarbossa scored the only goal in the skills competition in the top of the fourth round. Vanecek stopped all four shooters in net to secure the victory. 

The Hershey Bears finished the weekend 1-1-1-0, and improved their overall record to 7-5-2-1. Final shots on goal were 38-27 Hershey. The Bears return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 13 for a 7:05 PM visit at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Voice of the Bears Zack Fisch will have the call on the Bears Radio Network.