Bears Salvage Point in 3-2 OT Loss to Penguins

February 15, 2023

Bobby Nardella scored the game-tying goal with under a minute and a half left in regulation, but the Hershey Bears (30-12-5-1) only picked up one point in an eventual 3-2 overtime loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (21-20-2-4) on Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Hershey is now 5-3-3-0 this season against their Atlantic Division rival, with one game remaining in the head-to-head series, a home contest at GIANT Center on March 1.

BOX SCORE

The Penguins struck first when Drake Caggiula redirected Mitch Reinke’s shot from the point past Hunter Shepard for a power-play goal at 6:43 of the opening frame.

Mason Morelli answered with an unassisted goal for the Bears when he stripped Jamie Devane of the puck at the Hershey blue line and raced up the left side before cutting to the middle and beating Taylor Gauthier with a backhand shot at 18:21 for his ninth of the season.

The game remained tied 1-1 until 5:24 of the third period, when Filip Hallander had the puck roll off his stick following a centering pass from Valtteri Puustinen and slid through the legs of Shepard to put the hosts ahead 2-1.

With the Bears trailing late in the contest, Hershey opted to pull Shepard for an extra attacker, and the gamble paid off when the Bears won an offensive zone draw back to the blue line, and Nardella eventually beat a screened Gauthier from the right point at 18:31 to tie the game with his fourth of the season from Logan Day and Hendrix Lapierre.

Puustinen won the contest for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 1:31 of the extra session when the forward received a feed from Tyler Sikura as he barreled up the right side and slipped the puck through Shepard and end the game.

Shots finished 36-27 in favor of the Bears. Shepard went 24-for-27; Gauthier was 34-for-36 for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Bears were 0-for-4 on the power play; the Penguins finished 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

Hershey continues the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, when the Chocolate and White opens a two-game set against the Charlotte Checkers at Bojangles Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. The Bears return home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. for Faulkner Dodge Ram Bucket Hat Night. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bears bucket hat, courtesy of Faulkner Dodge Ram. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.