Bears Rally to Beat Penguins 3-2 in Overtime; Joe Snively Scores Game Winner

Posted on December 8, 2019 by Jon Sorensen
Photo: Caroline O’Connor/Hershey Bears/Great Save Productions

The Hershey Bears rallied to beat the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-2 (OT) Sunday evening at the Giant Center in Hershey. The Bears trailed by two goals entering the final frame but would get scores from Matt Moulson and Christian Djoos to tie the game. Joe Snively would pot the game winner 2:50 into overtime. The win improves the Bears record to 12-9-2-3 (27 points) on the season.

STARTERS
Pheonix Copley (5-5-4-1, 2.73 GAA, .894 sv%) started between the pipes for the Bears. Casey DeSmith (10-5-0-2, 2.52 GAA, .918 sv%) started in goal for the visiting Penguins. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:

Scratches: Lucas Johansen (lower body injury, day-to-day), Steve Whitney (upper body injury), Eric Burgdoerfer (upper body injury) and Colby Williams (lower body injury, week-to-week) were the injury scratches. Connor Hobbs, Riley Sutter and Kody Clark were the healthy scratches.

The American Hockey League announced on Sunday that Beck Malenstyn has been suspended for three (3) games as a consequence of an elbowing incident in a game at Lehigh Valley on Dec. 6. (More here).

Tobias Geisser was re-assigned to EV Zug in the Swiss league on Thursday. (More here).

FIRST PERIOD
The Penguins would strike first with a goal from Sam Miletic at 6:32 of the first frame. The Bears had scored first in the last five consecutive games.

The Penguins would quickly make it 2-0 with a goal from Anthony Angello at 8:16 of the first period. The Penguins led in shots on goal 6-4.

The Bears struggled with self-inflicted wounds (turnovers) between the blue lines in the first period, and that was the difference.

The first period would expire with the Baby Pens leading 2-0. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton led in shots on goal 9-7 for the first frame. There were no penalties called in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD
The Bears took control of possession early in the middle frame, leading in shots 6-1 at the 6:00 mark.

The Penguins would be awarded the game’s first power play at 8:36 of the second period when Eddie Whittchow was called for tripping. The Bears penalty kill had killed the opponents previous 16 power plays, coming into tonight’s game. Then Martin Fehervary cleared a puck over the glass to give the Penguins a 5-on-3 power play for 30 seconds. The Bears would successfully kill both of the penalties, the turning point in the game.

The Bears continued to win a majority of the puck battles and showed the greater offensive surge late in the middle frame, leading 10-6 in shots on goal at the 14 minute mark, but the momentum was squashed with a holding penalty called on Shane Gersich at 14:45 of the second period. However, the Penguins were called for a penalty just 30 seconds into their power play to squander the opportunity.

The second period would conclude with the Penguins leading 2-0. The Bears led in shots 18-6 for the middle frame, and 25-15 after two periods. The Penguins were 0 for 3 and the Bears 0 for 1 on a shortened power play.

Penguins Casey DeSmith had an excellent first two periods of the game.

THIRD PERIOD
The Bears would go to the power play early in the final frame, and they would capitalize. Matt Moulson (4) would punch home a rebound at 2:35 of the final frame. Bobby Nardella (4) and Christian Djoos (13) had the helpers. This was the Bears second power play goal in as amany games. After the game Coach Carbery mentioned the return of Bobby Nardella as a potential reason for the recent uptick in power play goals

Moments later Christian Djoos (3) would tie the game with a shot from the left point at 8:45 of the final frame. Garret Pilon (9) and Mike Sgarbossa (13) had the helpers.

The Bears would return to the power play after Shane Gersich was blasted with an illegal hit by Anthony Angello at 10:57 of the third period. Gersich would be ok and continue in the game.

The Penguins would return to the power play late in the final frame, and once again the Bears penalty kill would do it’s job, making it 20 consecutive kills.

Regulation would end tied 2-2.

OVERTIME
The Bears would start with Christian Djoos, Mike Sgarbossa and Joe Snively.

Joe Snively would score the game winner at 2:50 of overtime. Mike Sgarbossa had the lone assist.

The Bears are back in action on Saturday when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Giant Center. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM.

SHAVINGS

  • Attendance: 7,222
  • The AHL box score is here.
  • The Bears led in shots on goal 35-25 for the game.
  • Brian Pinho led the Bears in shots with 5.
  • Pheonix Copley stopped 23 of 25 for a .920 game save percentage.
  • Bears first six-point weekend.
  • Joe Snively has scored six goals in his last seven games.
  • Christian Djoos had a goal and an assist.
  • Mike Sgarbossa had two assists.
  • The Penguins were 0 for 4 on the power play and the Bears 1 for 3 on the power play.
  • Stars of the game: 1) Joe Snively, 2) Christian Djoos and 3) Matt Moulson.
  • The Bears were 1-8-0-1 when trailing after two periods entering tonight’s game.

By Jon Sorensen

SCENES FROM HERSHEY

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.
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2 Responses to Bears Rally to Beat Penguins 3-2 in Overtime; Joe Snively Scores Game Winner

  1. Pingback: Joe Snively Keeps Scoring, Vitek Vanecek Heating Up: Week 12 Prospect Report | NoVa Caps

  2. Pingback: Capitals Prospect Bobby Nardella Is Reviving The Power Play In Hershey | NoVa Caps

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