Bears Earn Point from Third Period Rally in 4-3 OT Loss to Penguins

January 11, 2023

Down 3-0 in the third period, the Hershey Bears (23-8-3-1) forced extra time with a three-goal rally that included two goals from Mike Sgarbossa, but the Chocolate and White ultimately fell 4-3 in overtime to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (17-10-2-3) on Wednesday night at GIANT Center.

With the loss, the Bears now sport a record of 5-3-2-0 against the Penguins through 10 games with two contests remaining between the I-81 rivals.

BOX SCORE
Jonathan Gruden opened the scoring exactly four minutes into the second period when he deflected Mitch Reinke’s point shot past the glove of Hunter Shepard.

Lukas Svejkovsky beat Shepard on a backhand breakaway shot at 12:53 to extend the lead to 2-0 for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Raivis Ansons buried a shorthanded goal at 14:20 to make it 3-0.

Sgarbossa, playing in his 500th career American Hockey League game, potted his 12th of the season with Hershey on the power play at 4:40 of the third to get the hosts on the board, as the veteran forward banged in an Ethen Frank rebound behind Taylor Gauthier. Mike Vecchione earned the secondary assist.

Vincent Iorio pulled Hershey to within one at 14:39 when he made his way to the net through a maze of bodies before deking to his backhand and beating Gauthier for his second of the season; Mason Morelli and Garrett Pilon assisted on the goal.

Sgarbossa drew the Bears level at 19:35 with Shepard pulled for an extra skater when he one-timed a Bobby Nardella feed past Gauthier from the right circle. Joe Snively earned the secondary assist; the helper extended a home point streak for Snively dating back to Nov. 14, 2021 to 15 games (9g, 13a), moving him past Alexandre Giroux for sole possession of a new franchise mark.

With the score tied at 3-3 at the end of regulation, the Penguins ultimately prevailed on their first shot of the extra frame, as Gruden redirected a centering pass from Reinke behind Shepard 29 seconds into OT for the game-winner.

Shots finished 26-23 in favor of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Shepard went 22-for-26 for Hershey; Gauthier was 20-for-23 for the Penguins. The Bears were 1-for-3 on the power play, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

Hershey continues the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, when the Chocolate and White host the Springfield Thunderbirds at GIANT Center as the club honors first responders during its second Hometown Heroes Night, presented by SERVPRO on Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. CLICK HERE for full details on the various first responders-themed activities and recognitions that will take place. Fans can also take advantage of $6.50 12 oz. cans of Yuengling Flight as part of Flight Friday, and $10 spooky cupcakes and cocktails will be available on tap behind Section 101 as a Friday the 13th food and beverage special. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.