Playoff Game 2 Preview: Penguins at Bears, 5 p.m.

May 8, 2022

The Hershey Bears look to extend their Calder Cup Playoff run in a must-win Game 2 of the opening round series versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. After falling Friday on the road, the Bears must win tonight to force a decisive Game 3 on Monday in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. 

#5 Hershey Bears (Playoffs: 0-1, Regular Season: 34-32-6-4) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Playoffs: 1-0, Regular Season: 35-33-4-4)
May 8, 2022 | 5 P.M. | Game 2, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton leads series, 1-0 | GIANT Center
Referees: Beau Halkidis (#48), Jim Curtin (#90)
Linespersons: Jud Ritter (#34), John Rey (#16)

Broadcast Information 
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, and FOX43's Todd Sadowski on the call
TELEVISION: Antenna TV, WPMT 43.2
Comcast 247, Verizon Fios 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata 91, Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon 88

RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM, Caps Radio 24/7, In-arena on 88.9 FM
WATCH LIVE: Antenna TV, AHLTV
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7 
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 4:30 p.m.

RECAPPING GAME 1:  
The Bears have their backs against the wall in the best-of-three opening round series after falling in Game 1 to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3-0, on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Penguins carried the play in the first period, outshooting Hershey 15-3, and striking twice in a 31-second span to grab a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Will Reilly scored the game's opening goal at 8:34 to give the Penguins the early advantage. At 9:05, the Pens scored again as Alex Nylander tipped a Radim Zohorna shot. Hershey generated more offense in the final two periods, including firing 11 shots in the third period, but the Bears failed to solve Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Tommy Nappier. With Cody Franson in the penalty box, Zohorna finished the win off for the Penguins with an empty net goal at 19:26. The Bears went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was 1-for-2. The Penguins outshot the Bears, 31-23. 

THREE YEARS LATER, HOME SWEET HOME:
Tonight marks Hershey's first Calder Cup Playoff game at GIANT Center in exactly three years. The last time Hershey played a home postseason game was on May 8, 2019 in Game 4 of a 2nd Round series with the Charlotte Checkers. Hershey will look to use home ice advantage to extend its season and force a Game 3. The Bears went 5-1-0-0 versus the Penguins at GIANT Center this season, and overall Hershey was 21-12-2-3 on home ice. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went just 13-21-1-3 away from home this season. 

BIG BRETT IS BACK: 
On Saturday evening, the Washington Capitals announced that forward Brett Leason had been re-assigned to Hershey. The third-year pro made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut for the Capitals on May 5 in a Game 2 loss to the Panthers. Leason, who spent half of the season in the NHL, only played two of Hershey's 12 games versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this year. He ended his AHL regular season with goals in two of the final three games of the campaign. 

TOMMY TIME:
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Tommy Nappier blanked the Bears in Game 1, turning aside all 23 Hershey shots he faced. He became the first goaltender in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton history to earn a shutout in his Calder Cup Playoff debut. Nappier also posted a 3-0 clean sheet versus Hershey in the final regular season meeting on Apr. 19, stopping 24 shots. The second-year pro out of Ohio State has not allowed a goal versus Hershey in 132:56 of game action. 

ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL: 
The last time the Bears faced elimination while trailing in a series, only to come back and win the series and advance, came in the opening round of the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs. In a best-of-five series, Hershey lost Game 3 in the third overtime to the Portland Pirates, 2-1. That gave the Pirates and then head coach Scott Allen a 2-1 series lead, but Hershey tied the series with a 2-0 victory in Game 4. In the decisive Game 5 at GIANT Center, Hershey won the contest, 2-1, with Ryan Stanton providing the series-winning goal. Hershey would go on to advance to the Calder Cup Finals that year, falling to Lake Erie in four games.