The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeated the Hershey Bears, 4-0 on Thursday at Giant Center.
Colby Williams returned to the line up after a three game suspension from the hit to the head on Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ Danick Martel. This also happened to be Williams’s 100th AHL game.
1st Period:
Hershey dominated the possession for most of the period but kept making costly mistakes.
First mistake was a break down on defense. The Penguins cycled the puck well enough to have Zach Aston-Reese free in the slot. A simple wrist shot beat Copley as it was a quick play to react to. Greg McKegg and Frank Corrado had the assists.
Bears kept shooting themselves in the foot as Copley came out to play the puck and as he went back into the net, a Bear’s defender passed it across ice, hitting Copley in the skate. Luckily, the puck was directed into the corner.
The Penguins, however, would score again on a play that could of been diverted. Coming into the zone alone, Jarrett Burton would score a tough angle shot. The puck would hit Copley in the shoulder and into the net. Daniel Sprong and Frank Corrado would get the assists.
1st Period Scoring:
WBS Goal: Aston-Reese (7), Assist(s): Greg McKeeg (4), Frank Corrado (9)
WBS Goal: Jarrett Burton (4), Assist(s): Daniel Sprong (11), Frank Corrado (10)
1st Period Shots: WBS – 4 – HER – 9
2nd Period:
Wilkes-Barre would take control of the game. Many hits were thrown towards the Bears, causing them to turn the puck over. The period was an easy one for Penguins net minder Peters as he only faced four shots.
Garrett Mitchell would block a shot on the first shift, leaving the game but he would return.
Bears did have their chances however. They took some chances and had three 2 on 1’s but did not connect on any of them. This could of changed the game if any of these were put into the net.
2nd Period Scoring: None
2nd Period Shots: WBS – 9, HER – 4
3rd Period:
The Penguins would go into full neutral zone trap this period since they had a two goal lead. This made it hard for the Bears to enter the zone and limiting their chances. When the Bears finally got set up, the Penguins did a wonderful job blocking almost every shot that came their way.
Hershey would once again have a mis-assignment half way through the period. Christian Thomas would be left alone just enough to put in an easy wrist shot. The assists came from Thomas DiPauli and Teddy Blueger.
Shortly after, the Penguins would score once again as Zach Trotman was the third man in on a nice 3 on 2. The pass from Daniel Sprong would leave him wide open and not giving Copley much of a chance to save it. The secondary assist came from Gage Quinney.
Fireworks would start as the Penguins would celebrate their third goal as Tyler Lewington would get into a fight with Garrett Wilson.
More penalties would be throw out as the frustration set in for the Hershey Bears and even more for the fans, as they left the seats early tonight.
This loss is the 6th straight for Hershey as they are falling further behind in the playoff standings. Something has to change quick if they want to even see a shot at the post season.
3rd Period Scoring:
WBS Goal: 10:54 – Christian Thomas (12), Assist(s): Thomas DiPauli (7), Teddy Blueger (12)
WBS Goal: 12:01 – Zach Trotman (3), Assist(s): Daniel Sprong (12), Gage Quinney (8)
3rd Period Shots: WBS – 9, HER 5
Total Shots: WBS – 21, HER – 18
Three Stars:
- WBS – Anthony Peters – 18 Save shutout
- WBS – Frank Corrado – 2 Assists
- WBS – Zach Aston-Reese – 1 Goal
