Bears Score Three Goals In Third Period To Beat Thunderbirds 3-2

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

The Hershey Bears rallied from down 2-0 in the third period to beat the Springfield Thunderbirds 3-2 Sunday afternoon at the Giant Center in Hershey. The win is Bears eighth-straight victory, improving their record to 16-9-2-3 (37 points) on the season.

STARTERS
Pheonix Copley (6-5-4-1, 2.67 GAA, .896 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Bears. Philippe Desrosiers (2-3-0-0, 3.82 GAA, .891 GAA) got the start in goal for the Thunderbirds. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:

Lineup for 12/22/2019 vs. Springfield ⬇️ #HBH pic.twitter.com/TeP3KrtXND

— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) December 22, 2019

Scratches: Christian Djoos (upper body injury), Lucas Johansen (lower body injury, day-to-day), Shane Gersich (lower body injury, day-to-day), Steve Whitney (upper body injury), Beck Malenstyn (upper-body injury) and Colby Williams (lower body injury, week-to-week) were the injury scratches. Connor Hobbs and Kale Kessy were the healthy scratches.

FIRST PERIOD
The Bears controlled a majority of the possession in the early going, leading in shots 8-3 after the first seven minutes of play.

The Bears would be awarded the game’s first power play with 8:51 remaining in the period, but the Bears were unable to convert, pushing the Bears power play efficiency to 13 for 101 on the season.

Alex Alexeyev was called for holding at 16:21, giving the Thunderbirds their first power play of the game. The Bears penalty kill was at 86% efficiency entering the game, and would successfully kill Springfield’s first power play.

The first period would ultimately end scoreless, with the Bears leading in shots 10-8, and both teams going 0 for 1 on the man advantage.

SECOND PERIOD
The Bears and Thunderbirds continued scoreless play in the second frame. Shots on goal were even at 6-5 after the first eight minutes of play.

The Thunderbirds would strike first with a goal from Paul Thompson (8) at 9:01 of the middle frame.

The Thunderbirds would quickly make it 2-0 with a goal from Daniel Audette at 12:59 of the second period.

The middle frame would end with the Thunderbirds leading 2-0. Shots on goal were tied 12-12 in the middle period, with the Bears leading 22-20 after 40 minutes of play.

THIRD PERIOD
The Bears would get on the board early in the final frame with a long distance shot at 1:39 of the third period. Philippe Maillet (6) and Bobby Nardella (6) had the helpers.

The Bears would tie the game with Moulson’s second goal of the period, a power play tally at 7:45 of the final frame. Philippe Maillet (7) and Mike Sgarbossa (16) had the assists.

The bears would take the lead on a tally from Philippe Maillet (5) at 10:43 of the final frame. Matt Moulson (9) and Alex Alexeyev (12) had the assists.

The Bears would hang on for their eighth-straight victory.

The Bears return to the ice on Friday when they face the Comets in Utica. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM.

Bears HC Spencer Carbery said #CapsProspect Beck Malenstyn will likely miss 3-in-3 after holiday break. Christian Djoos “should be alright”, was feeling better this morning, just not ready to play.

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) December 22, 2019