Hershey Bears

Bears Fall in Triple Overtime; Pirates Lead Series 2-1

After a full game and three overtimes, Rob Flick finally ended Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, 2-1 to give the Portland Pirates a 2-1 series lead. Justin Peters ended with 42 saves; Mike McKenna countered with 41 of his own on the opposite side.

The Bears controlled the first period, firing 12 shots on goal to Portland’s five. However, with no score at the end of 20, the Chocolate and White ran into penalty trouble.

Between penalty one and two, Nathan Walker scored on a tic-tac-toe passing play with Dustin Gazley and Madison Bowey. Then, the Bears took five more penalties over the middle period. A carry-over power play for Hershey started a streak of five power plays without giving up a penalty of their own.

Greg McKeeg busted into the zone with speed and blew by the defense; his wide drive drew Peters well out of his crease to challenge the shot. McKeeg then kept skating around the net while Peters got caught out too far. His wrap-around provided enough offense to send the game into overtime.

Through all three overtimes, fatigue served as the biggest factor. Initially, the Bears got the jump on Portland. Peters and McKenna held fort over the extra 40 minutes as lactic acid began to build up in large amount in everyone’s legs.

A bad turnover in the defensive zone gave the puck the Corban Kinght. A quick pass to Rob Schremp brought in one of very few odd-man rushes, as he elected to pass for Rob Flick. A fast flick on net emptied the benches and the seats in fast fashion, handing the Pirates another series lead.

Both teams will have to rest up, as their next game is Saturday. The Bears need to win Saturday’s game to force a Game 5 the following day. All games will be at GIANT Center.

Max Wolpoff

Churchill High School graduate (2015) and current Boston University journalism student. Follow me on Twitter (@Max_Wolpoff) for game-day tweets or my random musings about being a college student.

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