Bears come back but fall short in overtime, losing to the Marlies 5-4. Walker has a goal and assist while DSP scores in his third straight game.
Follow Cory Lyons on Twitter for live game updates of the Hershey Bears at @CoryLyonsAHL.
The Hershey Bears (34-22-2-4) welcome the defending Calder Cup champions, Toronto Marlies (32-20-6-4) to the Giant Center. This will be the only time these two teams face off this season.
Starting in goal for Hershey was Vitek Vanecek while Michael Hutchinson got the nod for Toronto.
1st Period:
Both teams played pretty tight on both ends of the rink. This period was played as a feel the other opponent out period. Hershey was called for three penalties to Toronto’s one.
This period went into the locker room a 0-0 tie.
1st Period Shots: HER – 6, TOR – 13
1st Period Scoring:
N/A
2nd Period:
This is where the game got interesting. Hershey was granted a power play in the first minute of the period but was later wiped away with a face-off violation. A call that does not normally get called all season.
Later in the period Toronto finally scored on the many power play chances they were rewarded. The Marlies won the face-off to the right of Vitek Vanecek. The puck was worked down low to Chris Mueller. Mueller shot the puck off of Vanecek’s stick and the rebound went right to Adam Brooks who shot the puck off of the far post and in. This gave Toronto a 1-0 lead.
WATCH: Bracco lets it fly from the top of the circle.#MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/BvtozVjzLA
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) March 16, 2019
Just over a minute later, Jayson Megna scored on a one timer. The pass came from Garrett Pilon who made a great play entering the zone to find Megna. This was Megna’s 17th goal of the season that tied the game 1-1.
Shortly after, Liam O’Brien was boarded near the penalty box. After laying there for an extended period of time, O’Brien sat up and everyone witnessed a nasty cut that was bleeding. On the way to the bench, O’Brien went after the closing guy in white he could find. This caused a fight between O’Brien and Sam Jardine. After the fight, O’Brien got a game misconduct for throwing his helmet at Jardine on the way to the box. This also gave Toronto a power play for unsportsmanlike conduct.
On the power play, Jeremey Bracco scored from the point. The shot was taken just above the circle that went through a screen and into the top corner, just over Vitek’s blocker side. This gave the Marlies a 2-1 lead.
WATCH: Bracco lets it fly from the top of the circle.#MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/BvtozVjzLA
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) March 16, 2019
Hershey responded once again. On a rush down the ice, Jayson Megna centered the puck and Nathan Walker tipped the puck past Hutchinson and through his five hole. This was Walker’s 14th goal of the season and tied the game 2-2.
The lead was taken back by Toronto two minutes later. Scott Pooley caused a turn over on the fore check. Tanner MacMaster picked up the puck and passed it over to Michael Carcone, who beat Vanecek to give the Marlies a 3-2 lead.
Both teams took another penalty causing them to skate 4 on 4. Off of the face-off, Jordan Subban scored his third goal of the season. The play was planned by the Marlies and it worked. This gave Toronto a 4-2 lead going into the third period.
WATCH: Bracco feeds Subban a 🔥 pass and the #Marlies go up by two. #MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/hVQVMHoztf
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) March 16, 2019
2nd Period Shots: HER – 11, TOR – 9
2nd Period Scoring:
7:28 – TOR: Adam Brooks(17) ASST: Chris Mueller(28), Dmytro Timashov(31)(PP)
8:39 – HER: Jayson Megna(17) ASST: Garrett Pilon(20), Tyler Lewington(11)
10:33 – TOR: Jeremy Bracco(18) ASST: Rasmus Sandin(12), Dmytro Timashov(32)(PP)
12:13 – HER: Nathan Walker(14) ASST: Jayson Megna(19), Devante Smith-Pelly(5)
14:03 – TOR: Michael Carcone(17) ASST: Tanner MacMaster(12), Scott Pooley(1)
15:02 – HER: Jordan Subban(3) ASST: Jeremy Bracco(46), Vincent LoVerde(8)
3rd Period:
Hershey worked hard and battled back. Just after the power play was over, Nathan Walker took a one timer from the boards that landed right on the stick of Garrett Pilon. Pilon redirected the puck past Hutchinson and cut the lead to one. Toronto now lead 4-3.
A minute and a half later, Devante Smith-Pelly found the puck in the slot with no one around. He turned and fired the puck on net but the puck was blocked. While in the air, the puck arched over Hutchinson and went in just under the cross bar to tie the game 4-4.
This game went into overtime.
3rd Period Shots: HER – 3, TOR – 3
3rd Period Scoring:
10:34 – HER: Garrett Pilon(8) ASST: Nathan Walker(17), Ryan Sproul(14)
12:05 – HER: Devante Smith-Pelly(5) ASST: None
Overtime:
Hershey had a shot blocked and got caught. Mike Sgarbossa took a tripping penalty to save a breakaway chance.
While on the power play, Jeremy Bracco shot the puck low and Chris Mueller tipped the puck past Vanecek to win the game.
Hershey lost in overtime 5-4 to Toronto.
Three Stars:
- TOR – Chris Mueller – 1 goal, 1 assist
- HER – Jayson Megna – 1 goal, 1 assist
- HER – Nathan Walker – 1 goal, 1 assist
Official Box Score: https://theahl.com/stats/game-summary/1019285
Photos in this post are courtesy of Cory Lyons. You can follow him on Twitter at @CoryLyonsAHL and on Instagram @CoryLyonsPhoto.
