Samsonov had 26 saves and his first career AHL point. Goals coming from Liam O’Brien and Ryan Sproul while Garrett Pilon and Beck Malenstyn recorded their first career pro points in the playoffs. Hershey win 2-1 and take a 2-1 series lead.
Follow Cory Lyons on Twitter @CoryLyonsAHL to keep up to date with everything Hershey Bears as well as live updates from their games.
The Hershey Bears host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for game 3 of the Atlantic Division semifinals. The series is tied 1-1 with Bridgeport winning game one in double overtime 3-2 and Hershey winning game 2 with the score of 2-0.
Starting in net tonight for the Bears is Ilya Samsonov who had a stellar performance in game one. Samsonov had 49 saves on the way to the loss.
1st Period:
Hershey came out flying with six shots on net in the first few minutes. Half way through the period, Riley Barber broke through the neutral zone with the puck. Barber sauced a pass over to Liam O’Brien. O’Brien had great patience and drove to the net. Once to the front, O’Brien went to his back hand and put the puck over Christopher Gibson’s leg pad to score his first goal since March 1st. Ilya Samsonov also received an assist on the play, making this his first career AHL point.
BIG TUNA! We struck first thanks to this blaze of speed by @OfficialBigTuna #HBH #DefendTheDen #BRIvsHER pic.twitter.com/N8ymC2F9ol
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) April 23, 2019
Before the period ended, the dangerous Josh Ho-Sang sprung free with his speed and was rewarded with a breakaway. Ho-Sang placed the puck through Ilya Samsonov and tied the game at 1-1 before going into the locker room.
Josh Ho-Sang's a pretty fast cat. 🐅😏🚀#SoundUp #SoundTigers #BRIvsHER pic.twitter.com/kqulbVaYiA
— Bridgeport Islanders (@AHLIslanders) April 23, 2019
1st Period Shots: HER – 18, BRI – 4
1st Period Scoring:
11:22 – HER: Liam O’Brien(1) ASST: Riley Barber(2), Ilya Samsonov(1)
17:38 – BRI: Josh Ho-Sang(1) ASST: Oliver Wahlstrom(2)
2nd Period:
There was no scoring in the second period but the Sound Tigers found their way back into the game. Possession and scoring chances were favored for Bridgeport this period.
2nd Period Shots: HER – 8, BRI – 13
2nd Period Scoring:
None
3rd Period:
Early in the period, Hershey scored their second goal. The goal came from the point and off of Ryan Sproul’s wrist shot. The puck went through a big screen and Gibson did not see the puck coming. Garrett Pilon and Beck Malenstyn both received assists on the goal making it their first career pro points. Bears led 2-1.
🚨🚨 @Sproully93 #BRIvsHER #HBH #DefendtheDen pic.twitter.com/YwGCxv9eM9
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) April 24, 2019
Hershey clamped down on the defense throughout the period. When Bridgeport finally broke through the blue line, they met people like Joey Leach:
brick wall (noun)
an immovable block or obstructionAlso see: Joey Leach pic.twitter.com/RJrXQFjfOr
— Chocolate Hockey (@ChocHockey) April 24, 2019
3rd Period Shots: HER – 10, BRI – 8
Overall Shots: HER – 34, BRI – 27
3rd Period Scoring:
2:50 – HER: Ryan Sproul(1) ASST: Garrett Pilon(1), Beck Malenstyn(1)
Three Stars:
- HER: Ryan Sproul – GWG
- HER: Liam O’Brien – 1 goal
- HER: Ilya Samsonov – 26 saves, 1 assist
Official Box Score: https://theahl.com/stats/game-summary/1019536
All photos in this post are courtesy of Cory Lyons. You can follow in on Twitter @CoryLyonsAHL or on Instagram @CoryLyonsPhoto.
