HERSHEY, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins went scoreless in nine power play chances and saw the Hershey Bears pot three on the man-advantage to fall, 4-1, on Friday at GIANT CENTER in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. Hershey’s home sweep ties the series, 2-2, and forces a deciding Game 5 tomorrow night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
The Bears owned the lead after the first period thanks to rookie defenseman Cameron Schilling scoring his second goal in as many games. On an abbreviated power play after 4-on-4 hockey, Hershey made it 1-0 when Schilling drove the net and had Zach Miskovic’s centering feed deflect off his knee and over the leg pad of Penguins goalie Brad Thiessen.
The next power play chance for Hershey would come in the second and they would convert once again when Boyd Kane backhanded a rebound chance inside the right post at 7:52.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton cut the lead in half with 2:10 left in the same period after the Bears were unable to clear their own zone. Defenseman Alex Grant gloved down the loose puck at the blueline and stickhandled to the near circle before saucing a pass across the crease that Jason Williams knocked past goalie Dany Sabourin.
Kane gave the Bears some breathing room midway through the third period with his second power play goal of night, tipping Ryan Potulny’s point shot to the back of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton net.
Chris Bourque iced the game for Hershey on an empty-net tally with 34 seconds left in regulation.
Thiessen turned aside 19-of-22 shots for the Penguins, while Sabourin made 23 saves for the Bears.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins host Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal on Saturday, April 28 at 7:05PM. Comment@prohockeynews.com

HERSHEY, Pa. – Ryan Potulny’s power play goal at 2:57 of overtime gave the Hershey Bears a 4-3 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday at GIANT Center to force a Game 4 in the best-of-five Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.
 
After the Penguins came back from a two-goal deficit, Hershey’s Kyle Greentree gave the Bears the lead once again with seven minutes left in regulation. A failed clearing attempt by the Penguins left Greentree alone in the slot, where he one-timed Jacob Micflikier’s pass off the near post and into the net.
 
With 2:17 remaining in the third, a late man-advantage helped Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to rally once again and force overtime as Alex Grant’s rifle shot from the point slipped through the pads of Hershey goaltender Dany Sabourin.
 
It would be a power play in the opening minutes of overtime that allowed the Bears to skate away with the victory. Penguins goalie Brad Thiessen got a blocker on a shot from the point by Tomas Kundratek, but could not seal the left post before Potulny fired back the rebound at 2:57.
 
Despite recording only six shots during the first period, the Bears were able to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. D.J. King started the scoring at 6:15 as he threw a pass from behind the Penguins’ net that banked off of a skate and across the goal line.
 
Hershey then went up by two when Cameron Schilling fired a slapshot from the far point that beat a screened Thiessen to the glove side with three minutes until the break.
 
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got on the board just 38 seconds in with the help of some carry-over power play time. After Jason Williams found Walker with a cross-zone pass, the Penguins right-winger swept a backhand shot that Sabourin denied with his skate, but Cal O’Reilly cut in front to deposit the loose puck.
 
The Penguins knotted the score at 6:22 of the third with Paul Thompson taking advantage of a turnover deep in the Hershey zone and centering in front to a wide-open Eric Tangradi for his first goal of the post season.
 
Thiessen took his first loss of the playoffs with 15 saves on 18 shots. Sabourin stopped 26 in the win for Hershey.
 
Game 4 will be played Friday, April 27 at 7:00 PM at the GIANT Center.
 
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