Hershey Bears Fall to Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3-2 (SO), Chris Bourque Scores a Pair

Photo: Tori Hartman

The Hershey Bears fell to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3-2 Sunday evening at the Giant Center in Hershey. Chris Bourque scored a pair of goals in the opening frame to give the Bears an early lead. Chris’ brother and former Bear Ryan also scored two goals for Bridgeport. The Bears would give up a goal with one minute left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. The loss dropped the Bears record for the season to 9-9-0-3. The Bears return to action Friday night when they visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Puck drop is 7:00PM.

Pheonix Copley (5-2-1, 2.34 GAA, .910 sv%) got the start between he pipes for the Bears. Christopher Gibson (6-4-0, 2.20 GAA, .916 sv%) got the start in goal for the Sound Tigers. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears on Sunday:

Bourque-Boyd-Simpson
Gazley-Langlois-Barber
O’Brien-Gustafsson-Bau
M. Mitchell-Sill-Peluso
Siegenthaler-Williams
Johansen-Lewington
Labrie-Bindulis

Bears Scratches – Connor Hobbs, John Albert, Garrett Mitchell and Tommy Hughes.

FIRST PERIOD
A fairly even start to the contest, with shots on goal 4-1 in favor of Bridgeport after the first 5 minutes of play. The Bears were whistled for the game’s first penalty and Bridgeport appearedto capitalize with a tally, but the goal was waived off due to a high-stick call.

The Bears would notch the game’s first tally with a power play goal by Chris Bourque at the 8:47 mark of the opening frame. Travis Boyd and Lucas Johansen were credited with the assists. Bourque is now alone at #8 all-time in goals with Hershey at 187.

Chris Bourque would make it 2-0 with his second goal of the game at 18:05 of the first period.

Chris’ brother and former Bear Ryan Bourque would cut the Bears lead in half with a goal for the Sound Tigers just 9 seconds later. The goal was a result of a set play off the faceoff in the Bears zone.

The period would end with the Bears leading 2-1. The Sound Tigers led in shots on goal 14-8 after one period of play.

SECOND PERIOD
Colby Williams and Connor Hones would drop the gloves at the 7:00 mark of the middle frame. The associated infractions would give the Bears a 5-on-3 power play, but Hershey would be unable to capitalize.

The period would end without a score, as the Bears held a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermisssion. The Bears outshot the Sound Rigers 15-7 for the second period, and led 23-22 after two periods of play.

THIRD PERIOD
The Bears and Sound Tigers continued exchanging shots to start the third period, but much like the second period, there wasn’t an abundance of scoring chances for either side. The Bears led in shots on goal 6-5 for the final frame, with 5 minutes left to play.

The Bears were whistled for a late penalty, giving the Sound Tigers a 6-on-4 man-advantage, and Ryan Bourque would tie the game with 1:00 left, sending the game into overtime.

OVERTIME
The Sound Tigers were whistled for too many men, giving the Bears a 4-on-3 man-advantage late in the extra frame, but were unable to capitalize, sending the game to the shootout.

SHOOTOUT
The Sound Tigers would win it in the shootout 2-1. Chris Bourque would be the only Bear to score in the shootout.

SHAVINGS: