Bears Beat Phantoms 3-2 In Shootout

Photo: Caroline O’Connor/Hershey Bears/Great Save Productions

The Hershey Bears beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-2 in shootout Sunday night at the Giant Center In Hershey. The win improves the Bears record to 7-5-2-1 (17 points) on the season. The Bears are back in action on Wednesday evening when they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Wilkes-Barre. Puck drop is set for just after 7:00 PM.

STARTERS
Vitek Vanecek (3-2-1-0, 2.78 GAA, .888 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Bears. Jean-Francois Berube (3-1-2-0, 2.61 GAA, .902 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Phantoms. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:

Scratches: Lucas Johansen (lower body injury, day-to-day), Colby Williams (lower body injury-day-to-day), Bobby Nardella (upper body injury, week-to-week). Brett Leason and Garrett Pilon were healthy scratches.

FIRST PERIOD
The Bears were benefactors of the game’s first power play but were unable to convert, extending their streak to 36-straight power plays without a goal.

The Phantoms would open the scoring on a 3-on-2 odd-man rush, beating Bears defenseman Tobias Geisser (#33) for the 1-0 lead. Kyle Criscuolo would finish the rush at 14:32 of the first frame.

The first period would end with the Phantoms leading 1-0. Hershey led in shots on goal 10-7 for the first frame. The Bears were 0 for 1 and the Phantoms 0 for 0 on the power play in the first period. Christian Djoos led the Bears in shots with 3, one wringing off the post.

SECOND PERIOD
The Bears would tie the game with a power play goal from Pjil Maillet at 3:42 of the second period. Matt Moulson (6) and Martin Fehervary (6) with the helpers. The power play tally ended an 0 for 36 streak without a power play goal.

The Phantoms would answer back with another odd-man rush, this time finished by Morgan Frost at 12:24 of the second period, giving Lehigh Valley a 2-1 lead.

The period would end with the Phantoms leading 2-1. Hershey led in shots on goal 12-11 for the second period, and led 22-18 after two periods of play. Lehigh Valley was 0 for 1 and Hershey 1 for 2 on the power play after two periods.

THIRD PERIOD
The Bears and Phantoms skated to a scoreless draw for most of the final frame, but the Bears would tie it late. Liam O’Brien dumped the puck into the zone, fished it out of the corner, dished to Chris McCarthy who found Steve Whitney in front of net at 17:16 of the final frame.

Regulation would end in a 3-3 tie.

OVERTIME
The Bears were awarded a 4-on-3 power play early in the extra frame, but could not convert. The Phantoms were awarded a 4-on-3 power play with 35 second left in overtime, but also couldnt convert, sending the game to a shootout.

SHOOTOUT
1. Moulson: No good. Phantoms: No good.
2. Maillet: No good. Phantoms: No good.
3. Djoos: No good. Phantoms: No good.
4. Sgarbossa: Good Phantoms: No good.

Sgarbossa’s game winner:

SHAVINGS

  • Attendance: 8,371
  • The AHL box score is here.
  • Bears led in shots on goal 38-27.
  • Hershey was 1 for 5 and Lehigh Valley 0 for 3 on the power play.
  • The Bears power play was 5 for 55 entering tonight’s game.

By Jon Sorensen

SCENES FROM HERSHEY

View this post on Instagram

Sgarbs with the game winning shootout goal!

A post shared by Hershey Bears (@thehersheybears) on

View this post on Instagram

#hometownhero @thehersheybears #defendtheden

A post shared by john thomas (@ipitytheful) on

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
This entry was posted in Hershey Bears, News and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Bears Beat Phantoms 3-2 In Shootout

  1. Pingback: Connor McMichael Keeps-Up Scorching-Hot Scoring Pace, Mitchell Gibson Shines In Back-To-Back Starts For Harvard: Prospects Weekly Report | NoVa Caps

  2. Day One Caps Fan says:

    Impressive slam-on-the-brakes shootout goal by Mike Sgarbossa. I can picture a hot-shot NHL referee calling “no goal” on the play for stopping forward momentum

Leave a Reply