WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins dropped a 4-2 decision to the Hershey Bears on Friday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (36-15-5-2) nearly staged an electrifying rally in the third period, but came up short. After pulling within striking distance, a handful of close scoring chances didn’t fall for the Penguins, leading to their fourth-straight loss.
A scoreless first frame gave way to a lopsided second period in favor of Hershey. The Bears buried three goals in 5:37 of game time to take a commanding lead into the second intermission.
First, Andrew Cristall whipped one in from the slot at the six-minute mark of the second stanza. Sonny Milano had a centering pass deflect off of a Penguins skate and blooper across the goal line to create a two-goal lead. Moments later, Ryan Chesley fired a wrister from the point and found twine, rounding out the three-tally outburst.
The Penguins turned up the heat immediately at the start of the third. Their efforts led to Aidan McDonough launching a marksman’s shot to the short-side top corner two-and-a-half minutes into the frame.
Twenty seconds after the Bears went to the box for a goalie interference penalty, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton made them pay. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard snapped a scorcher through Mitch Gibson’s five-hole at 8:43 of the third.
The Penguins proceeded to out-shoot the Bears 14-4 throughout the third period, but a tying goal never materialized. The fourth of those Hershey shots was ultimately an empty netter by Bogdan Trineyev that sealed the win.
Gibson stopped 30 shots while manning the crease for the Bears. Sergei Murashov thwarted 20 of the 23 shots he faced.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is back at it tomorrow, Saturday, Mar. 14, against its other in-state rival, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Puck drop for the Penguins’ annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration is set for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
