Bears edge Marlies on late goal, 4-3

Hershey, PA- )-Liam O’Brien scored with 3:03 remaining to complete a comeback and earn the Hershey Bears hockey team a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Marlies in front of 10,369 at Giant Center on Saturday night.

O’Brien broke a 3-3 tie late on the power play in the closing minutes of regulation. Hershey won an offensive zone draw and cycled the puck to Christian Djoos at the right point. The defender fed a pass to the top of the crease for O’Brien. The forward wrapped a shot around the left pad of Toronto goalie Antoine Bibeau to give Hershey a 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish.

A wild second period saw the start of Hershey’s comeback. The period saw five goals scored as the two teams skated to a 3-3 tie through 40 minutes. The Marlies jumped out to a 2-1 lead, scoring two goals in just 13 seconds. Colin Smith beat Hershey netminder Joe Cannata with a wrist shot from the left wing at 2:25, then Mason Marchment scored on a breakaway at 2:38 to give the Marlies a lead.

Andreas Johnsson made it 3-1 for the Marlies, beating Cannata with a slap shot from the slot at 10:43. However, Hershey roared back, tying the game with a pair of goals. Veteran Chris Bourque got the scoring started, deflecting a Djoos pass over the blocker of Bibeau to make it 3-2 on the power play at 13:48.

Bourque factored in again on the tying goal, setting up Hershey defender Darren Dietz in the slot for his sixth goal of the season. Bourque collected the puck in the corner and centered a pass to Dietz. The defender snapped a shot over the left pad of Bibeau to make it 3-3.

Christian Thomas also scored in the win, notching a goal at 9:09 of the first period to make it 1-0. The forward capitalized on a turnover and maneuvered around netminder Garret Sparks to score his 19th goal of the season. Sparks was injured on the play, and left the game after allowing a goal on the only shot he faced. Bibeau replaced him and allowed three goals on 22 shots.

Cannata stopped 22 shots and earned his first win since Jan. 14. Hershey was 2-for-6 on the power play while Toronto was 0-for-2.

In addition to the win, the night featured a special announcement. Prior to the game, Hershey’s Vice President of Hockey Operations Bryan Helmer announced the club would host the 2018 Outdoor Classic at Hersheypark Stadium on January 20, 2018 versus the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
With Hershey match report