For the Caps, It Shouldn’t Hurt So Bad, But It Does
The Caps had the Panthers beat three games in a row, but...
Hershey loses lead in the third period, then the game in overtime. Vanecek makes 37 saves while Jayson Megna scores short handed.
Follow Cory Lyons on Twitter @CoryLyonsAHL for live updates of the Hershey Bears as they fight for their 12th Calder Cup!
The Hershey Bears welcomed the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for game 4 of their series. Hershey currently leads the series 2-1. In the last game, the Bears defeated the Sound Tigers 2-1 with the work of Ilya Samsonov and his 26 saves.
Hershey has struggled in game 4 situations in their history. The Bears lost their last five games previous to this game. Their last win was in 2016 when they battled Portland.
Hershey took full advantage of Bridgeport’s slow start. Beck Malenstyn and Brian Pinho worked the puck in the corner before throwing a shot on Christopher Gibson. The puck snuck through Gibson’s pads and Ryan Sproul flew in to clean up the rebound. This gave Hershey a 1-0 lead early in the game.
PUCK. PERSISTENCE.@Sproully93 scored the game-winner in the 3rd period Tuesday, and he kicked things off tonight! #HBH #DefendTheDen #BRIvsHER pic.twitter.com/4gVcCHzQoN
— x – Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) April 25, 2019
Things got heated after Riley Barber got called for boarding:
Riley Barber called for boarding. A scrum ensues, Bears to the penalty kill. pic.twitter.com/mo0nBXs39W
— Chocolate Hockey (@ChocHockey) April 25, 2019
1st Period Shots: HER – 10, BRI – 9
5:47 – HER: Ryan Sproul(2) ASST: Brian Pinho(1), Beck Malenstyn(2)
Bridgeport started to take control of the game during the second period. The Bears did not register a shot on net for the first five minutes. During that period of time, Stephen Gionta scored his first goal of the playoffs. Gionta pounded home a rebound that was created by Kyle Burroughs. This tied the game 1-1 early in the second period.
Atta boy Gio 💪. #SoundTigers #SoundUp pic.twitter.com/1tp7I4bssc
— x – Bridgeport Sound Tigers (@TheSoundTigers) April 26, 2019
Late in the second, Steve Whitney took a high sticking penalty but that did not stop Jayson Megna from scoring on a breakaway. The puck bounced over Chris Bourque’s stick and Megna took off. With his speed, Megna placed the puck through Gibson’s legs to give Hershey a 2-1 lead going into the locker room.
JAYSON. MEGNA. (@Jayson_Megna)
💯on the goal
💯on the celly#HBH #DefendTheDen #BRIvsHER pic.twitter.com/WPAl3oZaOD— x – Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) April 26, 2019
2nd Period Shots: HER – 6, BRI – 13
2:18 – BRI: Stephen Gionta(1) ASST: Kyle Burroughs(1), John Stevens(1)
15:22 – HER: Jayson Megna(2) ASST: None(SH)
While in the locker room, Bridgeport came out with a plan. That plan was to jump all over Hershey and get everything on net. Two minutes into the period, the planned worked. Oliver Wahlstrom tipped home Kyle Burroughs’ shot and tied the game at 2. This was Wahlstrom’s first goal of the playoffs and Burroughs’ second assist of the night.
Oliver gets it knotted up in the third! 🙌#SoundTigers #SoundUp pic.twitter.com/v4x2E6fAdU
— x – Bridgeport Sound Tigers (@TheSoundTigers) April 26, 2019
The Bears struggled to muster any offense and the game went into overtime.
3rd Period Shots: HER – 5, BRI – 17
2:15 – BRI: Oliver Wahlstrom(1) ASST: Kyle Burroughs(2), Otto Koivula(2)
It did not take long for Bridgeport to send this series to game 5. Matt Lorito threw a soft shot on net that some how beat Vitek Vanecek. The puck went under Vanecek’s glove on the 40th shot he faced.
Bridgeport wins 3-2 in overtime.
Overtime Shots: HER – 3, BRI – 1
1:13 – BRI: Matt Lorito(1) ASST: Josh Ho-Sang(1), Seth Helgeson(1)
Official Box Score: https://theahl.com/stats/game-summary/1019537
Photos in this post are courtesy of Cory Lyons. You can follow him on Twitter @CoryLyonsAHL and on Instagram @CoryLyonsPhoto.