The Hershey Bears rallied for three goals in the third period to complete a thrilling, 3-2 comeback victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon at Giant Center. The comeback extended Hershey’s winning streak to eight games entering the Holiday Break. 
Similar to last night’s battle against Springfield, both teams were unable to crack the score sheet in the opening 20 minutes. Shots at first intermission were 10-8 Hershey, with both Pheonix Copley and Philippe Desrosiers perfect in their respective nets. Next period, the Thunderbirds struck for a pair to grab a 2-0 advantage prior to second intermission. First, Paul Thompson won a loose puck battle in the low-slot and beat Copley five-hole at 9:01 to open the scoring. Next, Daniel Audette doubled his team’s advantage on a perfect redirection of a Rob O’Gara shot at 12:59. Shots after 40 minutes were 22-20 Hershey.
Into the third period, the Chocolate and White quickly began to mount their comeback, powered by Matt Moulson. At 1:39, Moulson gained the offensive zone during a line change, and pulled a quick trigger past Desrosiers to cut Hershey’s deficit in half. Moulson scored again to tie the game at 7:45 courtesy of effective special teams play. Last night, the Bears went 0-for-2 on the power play to snap a four-game power play goal streak, but capitalized in the clutch Sunday. After Anthony Greco was called for hooking at 6:35, Moulson fired another shot past Desrosiers 70 seconds later following a feed from Philippe Maillet.
Maillet recorded the primary assist on both of Moulson’s goals, and both completed a three-point night in dramatic fashion. Tied at 2-2, Moulson found Maillet on a stretch pass through the neutral zone for a breakaway. All alone, Maillet scored on the golden opportunity to put Hershey ahead 3-2 at 10:43. Key stops late by Copley helped the Bears ride the 3-2 score to the final horn for an eighth consecutive win.
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