Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Zach Sill proved to be the demise of them this evening, scoring the game-winning short handed goal at 5:57 of the third to give the Hershey Bears a 3-2 series lead. The best-of-seven shifts back to Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza for Game 6, a chance for the Bears to eliminate their intra-state rival.
Immediately after Game 4, Liam O’Brien and Tom Sestito went after each other on Twitter, with Sestito calling O’Brien a coward and O’Brien asking Sestito to take the rocks out of his head. Both players started the game, and, as could have been predicted, the dropped their gloves once the game began.
@TomSestito23 take the rocks out of your head, the marbles out of your mouth and for god sakes fix that hairline.
— Liam O'Brien (@OfficialBigTuna) May 10, 2016
Sestito got most of his punches in at two intervals: when O’Brien’s jersey was pulled over his head and when he was O’Brien was on the ice. For the latter, he received a misconduct for Continuing Altercation. From there, the stage was set for a wild ride.
Carter Camper and Jakub Vrana scored in the first period to keep the GIANT Center crowd into the game. Camper’s initial shot was deflected behind Tristan Jarry’s cage by Harrison Ruopp. Camper beat him to the loose puck and turned a wrap-around beneath Jarry’s pads.
On a Bears five-on-three, Sill fed Vrana from behind the net for the slam-dunk one-timer. The Bears held the steering wheel firmly through the first half of the second when Sean Collins got the last touch on an Aaron Ness shot and Travis Boyd tip, generating the following reaction.
.@TheHersheyBears take Game 5 and lead the series 3-2 #HERvsWBS pic.twitter.com/IT3yiBqqRk
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) May 12, 2016
From there, however, the Penguins began their march toward a comeback. Tom Kostopoulos crashed Justin Peters‘ crease and the puck was loose enough for the slide-in goal. It was 3-1 39 seconds after it was 3-0.
After Kael Mouillierat hooked Madison Bowey‘s stick right out of his hands, the Penguins came up three-on-two. With the added advantage, the cross-ice pass to Josh Archibald came smoothly, allowing the second Penguins goal to go in.
Of all people to tie the game, Sestito finished off a passing play from Teddy Blueger by firing in on the short side. His momentum carried him to the ice where he slid and took out Peters’ legs, but it was his “celebration” that earned him a spot in the sin bin. He took off his glove and moved one finger to his lips before embracing his teammates.
Initially, it was deemed a ten-minute misconduct, then he was escorted off the ice. He kept flapping his arms trying to get his team pumped up, but the night on the ice ended for Sestito.
No penalty resulted from the misconduct penalties, but Tyler Lewington took a cross-checking minor 16 seconds later. On the ensuing penalty kill, the Bears remained aggressive, yet struggled to clear the puck. Then Ryan Stanton poked the puck ahead to Sill, and he went off to the races.
He stayed strong on the puck and hit the five-hole of Casey DeSmith, in for the starter Jarry. Ryan Bourque added an empty-netter before the final fireworks flew on a Bears victory.
Garrett Mitchell and Steve Oleksy fought at the final horn for good measure, but it was Sestito from the locker room who stole the show. After the game ended and the team’s filed to their rooms, he tried to go after the official, earning him another game misconduct for Abuse of Officials.
The Bears and Penguins will play again on Friday night.
