Hershey, PA – – The Hershey Bears posted a field goal in the first period and pounced past the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 5-2 on Saturday night at Giant Center, extending Hershey’s season-best win streak to five straight. Brian Pinho tallied in his 100th professional game, and Vitek Vanecek back stopped the Chocolate and White with 24 stops on 26 shots. 
Only 1:49 into the game, Pinho opened Hershey’s scoring on a perfect redirection. Breaking to the net, Pinho tipped a perfect pass from Axel Jonsson-Fjallby into the cage for his fourth goal of the season. Bridgeport answered at 7:48, after Kieffer Bellows banked a sharp angle shot off Vanecek’s pads and in. The Bears quickly regained their lead on transition play at the 11:44 mark. Looking to connect with Garrett Pilon on a backdoor pass, Mike Sgarbossa perfectly bounced a feed off a Bridgeport defender and behind Sound Tigers goaltender Jakub Sharek. Less than a minute later, Philippe Maillet stretched his team’s lead to 3-1 after burying a pass from Liam O’Brien. Shots after 20 minutes were 10-5 Hershey with a two-goal advantage.
Next period, the Sound Tigers quickly pulled within one, only to be met with two Hershey tallies. Andrew Ladd scored at 1:26 of the middle frame, but the Bears responded on their second power play chance of the night. After Sgarbossa saw his shot blocked in the slot, Matt Moulson fired the loose puck into the cage for his eighth goal of the season at 5:59. The power play strike marked the first time this season Hershey scored a power play goal in three straight games. Only 14 seconds later, O’Brien pushed his team’s lead to 5-2 on his sixth goal of the season. Pinho recorded the primary helper for his second career multi-point, and second of the 2019-20 season. Shots after 40 minutes were 22-16 Bridgeport with the Bears leading by a field goal.
Into the final period, Hershey’s penalty kill rattled off five consecutive successful kills, including two 5-on-3 power play disadvantages. The Bears penalty kill extended its current streak to 26 straight successful kills, dating back to Dec. 1 versus Hartford, with a perfect 6-for-6 performance on Saturday. Final shots on goal were 26-18 Bridgeport.
With Hershey match report
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