Bears Score Six Unanswered, Beat Penguins 6-2

January 25, 2022

The Hershey Bears overcame an early 2-0 deficit and topped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins by a 6-2 final on Tuesday night at GIANT Center. Joe Snively scored two shorthanded goals in the final frame to extend his home point streak to 14 games, and Christopher Brown tallied his first career American Hockey League goal which later stood as the game-winner. Hershey's record improved to 20-12-3-2. 

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton jumped out to a 2-0 lead courtesy of first period goals from Juuso Riikola at 7:49 and Nathan Legare at 10:56. Riikola tallied on the power play following an offensive zone face-off win, and Legare doubled his team's advantage by executing on a 2-on-1 rush. Shots after 20 minutes were 13-9 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. 

The Bears responded with three goals in the second period followed by three more in the third. Garrett Pilon scored his 13th goal of the season on a wraparound attempt at 4:05, and Marcus Vela tallied the equalizer at 15:18. Dylan McIlrath earned the secondary assist on both plays for a multi-point night. Before the stanza expired, Christopher Brown hit paydirt on a short-side bullet at 18:44 for his first AHL goal. Colby McAuley earned the primary assist for his first point as a Bear. Shots after 40 minutes were 24-21 Hershey. 

Joe Snively bookended the third period scoring with an unassisted shorthanded goal off a strip steal at 11:54, followed by an empty net unassisted goal at 17:56. Kale Kessy chipped in offensively at 16:00 with this third goal of the campaign setup by Tobias Geisser and Marcus Vela. Final shots totaled 34-28 Hershey. The Bears went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill and were held without a power play.

The Hershey Bears return to action on Saturday, January 29 against the Bridgeport Islanders at 7 P.M. The first 4,000 fans will receive a knit cap, courtesy of PSECU. Ticket information is available online at HersheyBears.com.