Baby Pens Blank Bears In Game 1 Of First Round Best-Of-Three Series Of Calder Cup Playoffs

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Jon Sorensen
Photo: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

The Hershey Bears fell to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3-0 in Game 1 of their best-of-three first round series of the Calder Cup Playoffs on Friday. Game 2 is set for Sunday evening at Giant Center in Hershey.

The Penguins struck twice in a 31-second span in the middle of the first frame for a 2-0 lead at the first intermission. Following a scoreless middle frame, the Penguins would add an empty net goal late in the final period for the 3-0 final.

STARTERS

Pheonix Copley (18-12-5-2, 2.38 GAA, .913 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Bears. The Penguins countered with Tommy Napier (13-10-2-1, 2.87 GAA, .897 sv%) in net. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Bears:

Injuries: Shane Gersich (lower body injury), Ethan Frank (lower body injury), Brian Pinho (shoulder surgery), Matt Moulson (back surgery), Julian Napravnik (lower body injury) and Riley Sutter (upper body injury).

Scratches: Zach Fucale, Macoy Erkamps, Christopher Brown, Jake Massie, Vincent Iorio, Bear Hughes, Bogdan Trineyev, Benton Maass, Kevin Fitzgerald, and Clay Stevenson.

FIRST PERIOD

The Bears were awarded the game’s first power play after Radim Zohorna took the skates out from under Bears goaltender Pheonix Copley, but the Bears were unable to convert on the man advantage.

The Penguins struck first with a tally from Will Reilly (1) at 8:34 of the first period. Jonathan Gruden (1) and Pierre-Olivier Joseph (1) had the helpers.

The Pens made it 2-0 less than a minute later with a goal from Alexander Nylander (1) at 9:05. Radim Zohorna (1) and Pierre-Olivier Joseph (2) had the assists.

The first period concluded with the Penguins leading 2-0. They led in shots 15-3. Hershey was 0 for 1 on the power play in the first period while the Penguins did not have a man advantage in the first 20 minutes.

SECOND PERIOD

The Bears and Penguins skated to a scoreless draw in the middle frame.

Kale Kessy tried to spark the team with a brawl with Jamie Devane late in the middle frame.

Shots were 24-12 Penguins after 40 minutes of play. Hershey was 0 for 2 and Wilkes-Barre 0 for 1 on the power play after two periods.

THIRD PERIOD

The Penguins would add an empty net goal late in the final frame for the 3-0 final.

Game 2 is set for Sunday night at Giant Center. The Bears will need to win on Sunday to force a decisive Game 3 on Monday at Wilkes-Barre.

SHAVINGS

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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3 Responses to Baby Pens Blank Bears In Game 1 Of First Round Best-Of-Three Series Of Calder Cup Playoffs

  1. Anonymous says:
    May 6, 2022 at 11:06 pm

    Bears offense just can’t score. Been that way for the second half of the season.

    Reply
    • Jon Sorensen says:
      May 6, 2022 at 11:08 pm

      Agree, and they are generating shots, at least up until tonight. Tonight is just hard to really judge, as the team was off the last 12 days. It’s too much to ask a team to sit that long without a game.

      Reply
  2. novafyre says:
    May 6, 2022 at 11:53 pm

    I think this was Snively’s first game back. Leason, McMichael, and The Hair are still with the Caps, yes? That’s four big offensive pieces.

    Reply

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