Matchup details
Visitors: #5 Hershey Bears (3-1). Hosts: #2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (1-1). Venue: Giant Center. Faceoff: 7 p.m., May 5, 2026. Series knotted 1-1. On the whistle — Young, Jack (24) and MacPhee, Morgan (43) as referees; on the lines, Ritter, Jud (34) plus Allan, Scott (63).
How to follow along
Calling the action: Fisch (Zack), Mitchell (Garrett), Lamoureux (Mitch), plus Sadowski (Todd) Television feed: Antenna TV — carried on FOX WPMT 43.2; via Xfinity on channels 247 plus channel 1178; on Verizon's FiOS at channel 463; on the Ephrata system of Blue Ridge at channel 91; and through the Newberry/Duncannon Blue Ridge system at channel 88 Over the airwaves: In-arena 88.9-FM, plus 100.1-FM WFVY and 1460-AM Fox Sports Streaming the broadcast: FloHockey's AHLTV Audio streams: the 100.1-FM Froggy Valley Stream, and separately the 1460-AM Fox Sports Stream Pre-game on radio begins 6:30 p.m.; by 7 o'clock the TV feed switches on.
---
Setting the stage
A road split to begin the series left things even, as Hershey squeezed out a gritty 2-1 result in the second meeting at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Derek King, who runs Hershey's bench, said he'd told his group they had done plenty to claim the opener but warned against being satisfied with merely doing plenty. According to the coach, there was still an extra level to find, and his players reached for it that afternoon, competing hard regardless of whether they got hemmed inside their own zone.
The Bears struck first when Brett Leason knocked a floating disc from the air past Penguins stopper Sergei Murashov, doing so at 16:25 of period one. Later, off a polished pass courtesy of Andrew Cristall, Bogdan Trineyev stretched the margin 17:11 into the middle frame.
Afterward, Leason called the marker a slightly lucky carom, while noting his side had to get going early and protect a one-goal cushion. Over their last few postseason outings, he added, the club had shown off both its defending and its knack for guarding a margin, and in his view they nailed it that afternoon.
Bogdan Trineyev nets the winner in Game 2 to even the Hershey Bears-WBS Penguins series at 1-1
Across his third postseason win, Clay Stevenson kicked aside 36 pucks total and gave up only a single marker — Aidan McDonough's, in the closing 20 minutes.
Clay Stevenson shines for Hershey with a 36-save effort over the WBS Penguins to square the second-round series, saying he feeds off the crowd and they feed off him
For tonight, Hershey looks doubtful to welcome back veteran wing Sonny Milano, who's been sidelined by illness, although blueliner Ryan Chesley could conceivably suit up again.
The club notes its lifetime mark in third games sits at 72-63 entering tonight, with a home split of 35-35. In situations where the matchup stands level at 1-1, Hershey's third-game ledger reads 33-28. Up top in the postseason scoring race, three of the team's skaters are deadlocked — Trineyev, Cristall, and Protas — on five points each (3a, 2g).
Faceoff this evening goes at 7 in the evening.
---
Projected lineups
Hershey Bears
Top trio — Protas, Trineyev, Cristall Second trio — Suzdalev, Miroshnichenko, Rybinski Third trio — Cruikshank, Leason, Bitten Fourth trio — Strome, Smith, Bongiovanni Top pair — Chesley alongside Ness Middle pair — Belpedio with Gucciardi Third pair — McDonald and Schueneman Between the pipes — Stevenson starting, Gibson in reserve
Sidelined tonight for Hershey (injury or illness): Sonny Milano, Cam Allen, Eriks Mateiko, Spencer Smallman
WBS Penguins
Top trio — Koppanen, McDonough, Harvey-Pinard Second trio — Klassen, McGroarty, Hayes Third trio — Broz, Ilyin, Koivunen Fourth trio — Calvert, Imama, Howe Top pair — Brunicke alongside Alexeyev Middle pair — Pietila with Pickering Third pair — Kemp and Aho Between the pipes — Murashov starting, Blomqvist in reserve
---
Opening frame
Play is underway.
A giveaway is pounced on by Phil Kemp, nudging Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ahead by one not long after the start.
🚨
Penguins ahead 1-0
Opening the scoring at 03:15, Kemp buries his first; the helpers, Broz (1) plus Koivunen (2), get credited too.
In tight, Cristall is turned away by Murashov, then the visitors race up ice and tack on another.
🚨
Penguins up 2-0
Doubling the cushion at 06:16 is Ilyin's first; helping out were Broz (2) alongside Brunicke (1) on the play.
For Hershey, Miroshnichenko hits back, finishing off a drop feed that Rybinski left for him.
🚨
Penguins on top 2-1
Cutting into the deficit at 09:49, Miroshnichenko notches his first; setting it up were Rybinski (2) and also Chesley (1) on the sheet.
Out in front with nobody near him, Chesley gets denied by Murashov. Down at the far end, Stevenson then turns in two huge stops.
🔋
On the power play
Penalty — Brunicke whistled for hooking, 15:31 on the clock
A stick gets chopped in half on Wyatt Bongiovanni, and incredibly the zebras wave it off.
Feeding it over to Trineyev, Protas evens things up. That lead unit for Hershey keeps blazing.
🚨
Deadlocked 2-2
Squaring the score at 18:09, Trineyev pots his third; the assists go to Protas (4) and to Cristall (4) on it.
Once the period ends: A pair of goals apiece across the opening twenty leaves matters tied. On the shot clock Hershey is up, 14-7.
---
Middle frame
Play is underway.
Within sixty seconds of the middle period starting, Leason (Brett) thumps in a Cruikshank (Grant) delivery, lifting Hershey ahead for its very first time on the night.
🚨
Bears in front 3-2
Giving Hershey the edge at 00:37, Leason buries his second; credited with helpers were Cruikshank (3) plus Bitten (1) here.
🦓
Shorthanded
Penalty — Rybinski called for tripping, 06:10 on the clock
Chasing the tying tally, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is now ahead on the shot count against Hershey 7-3, and 9:52 sits on the clock in the middle stanza.
Coincidental roughing calls land on Sam Bitten as well as Bokondji Imama, dropping the sides to a two-minute four-on-four.
Off a Hershey 3-on-2, a David Gucciardi shot is stopped when Sergei Murashov pushes up to the lip of his blue paint.
One more dominant turn from that top Hershey unit — they don't score, yet they lean heavily and steadily on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's zone.
From a tight angle Harrison Brunicke pings the post's far edge; Stevenson (Clay) locates the loose disc to smother play.
As time expires a decent-sized melee breaks out once David Gucciardi puts Tristan Broz to the ice.
At the second intermission: Off that early goal by Leason, the Bears carry a one-goal cushion. The shot tally still favors Hershey, 21-17.
---
Final frame
Play is underway.
Four-on-four kicks off the third, a holdover from those coincidental roughing calls handed to Tristan Broz along with Ilya Protas as the middle stanza wrapped up.
Off the iron goes a try from Avery Hayes, and Hershey clears the loose puck away from its goal line.
🔋
Back on the power play
Penalty — Koppanen sent off for tripping, 03:57 on the clock
The third has turned awfully tight, with Hershey locking down the neutral zone.
Looking to try the Michigan, Andrew Cristall sees the puck wobble off the toe of his blade.
With the final-stanza clock down to 3:03, Stevenson (Clay) smothers the play. Trailing by a goal, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton spends a timeout.
Off comes Sergei Murashov, swapped out for one more attacker.
In a flash the visitors answer through Avery Hayes. A slash had knocked the stick loose from Protas's grip, springing him free, and the officials let it go.
🚨
Even again at 3-3
Hayes ties it at 17:07 with his second — and there's nobody credited for helping.
So overtime arrives.
Ahead of the extra session: That last-gasp tying goal pushes the game beyond regulation. The shot count favors Hershey, 27-26.
---
Extra time
Play is underway.
While tumbling over, Sam Bitten slides a loose puck off the cage's outer edge. As the bonus period begins, that's a tight one for Hershey.
Bogdan Trineyev pulls off a jaw-dropping deke, only to flip the disc above the netting.
A clean chance arrives for Ilya Protas, but once Murashov turns it back, defenders sweep the loose puck aside.
The winner in the extra session is tipped in by Rutger McGroarty.
🚨
Penguins prevail 4-3
McGroarty closes it out at 05:03 with his first; helping along were Aho (1) and Klassen (2) on the marker.
Oh, my goodness. It sure doesn't look as though the puck went over, yet the zebras have already walked off without any review. Just what on earth is happening? Trash is being chucked onto the rink by the crowd.
According to Zack Fisch, the Bears' broadcast voice, replay shows the disc clipping the bar at the rear. The goal counts.
Taking the contest 4-3, the Penguins grab a 2-1 edge in this set. To keep their year alive, Hershey must string together a pair of wins.
---
Drop your thoughts in the comments. Keep refreshing for in-game updates throughout. We'll lock the thread not long after the contest wraps.