WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Force was strong with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, as they defeated the Hershey Bears in overtime, 3-2, in Saturday’s STAR WARS Night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s (34-18-7-1) received a pair of strikes by rookie Atley Calvert during regulation, then was propelled to victory with Avery Hayes’ overtime heroics.
At the end of a fast-paced, physical, and tightly contested game, Hayes finished off a slick pass from Sebastian Aho, sliding the puck past the far pad of Hershey goalie Hunter Shepard two minutes into OT.
Sergei Murashov improved to 10-0-0 with tonight’s victory, eclipsing Matt Murray for the longest winning streak by a rookie in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton franchise history.
A sprint of a first period concluded with Hershey in a 1-0 lead after opening the scoring on a late, power-play by Mike Vecchione.
Calvert tied the game for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3:49 into the second stanza. Calvert shoveled a loose puck past Shepard. Calvert struck again, burying a pristine pass from Zach Gallant with a backhand deke seven minutes into the third period for a 2-1 Penguins lead.
After a four-minute penalty kill, the Bears pulled Shepard for an extra attacker. With 91 seconds remaining in regulation, Vecchione tallied his second goal of the evening to force overtime.
The Penguins and Bears skated up and down during the extra frame, but Hayes put an end to the frenzy with his 19th goal of the season.
Murashov made 24 saves in the win, while Shepard turned aside 28 shots for Hershey.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 23, against the Bridgeport Islanders. Game time between the Penguins and Islanders is slated for 3:00 p.m. at Total Mortgage Arena.
The Penguins return to Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza on Wednesday, Mar. 26 to wrap up their season series with the Hartford Wolf Pack. The midweek matchup will drop the puck at 7:05 p.m.
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