HERSHEY, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost in the shootout to the Hershey Bears, 4-3, in an intense meeting at Giant Center on Saturday night.
Though Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (5-2-0-1) never trailed at any point in the contest, the back-and-forth game ended up going Hershey’s way by a 2-0 decision in the shootout.
Garrett Wilson and Liam O’Brien wasted no time igniting fireworks in the rivalry, dropping gloves to fight just six seconds into the game. The Bears rallied after the fight to out-shoot the Penguins 13-5 in the opening frame, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton carried a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Zach Aston-Reese broke through for the Penguins at 14:51 of the first period with an unassisted, five-hole goal on goaltender Ilya Samsonov.
As the middle frame began, Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry came out of his crease to play the puck, which then took an odd bounce and veered into the slot with the net unprotected. Jarry raced back and dove to attempt a save, but Mike Sgarbossa had already gotten there and scored into the open net, tying the game, 1-1.
Six minutes after Sgarbossa’s goal, Teddy Blueger put the Penguins back in the lead with a slick backhand shot. Hershey later equalized again, this time with Riley Barber scoring on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the second period.
The Penguins charged into the third stage of the game dictating the offensive, and Ethan Prow banged one in at 3:11 after taking a slyly concealed pass from Adam Johnson. However, the Bears mustered a response for third time with a goal by Beck Malenstyn less than a minute after Prow’s go-ahead tally.
Tied 3-3, the game entered overtime, during which Jarry made several dazzling saves on the Bears on point-blank opportunities.
When the game went to the shootout, Hershey’s Berber and Shane Gersich were able to score while the Penguins went unsuccessful on two bids. Jarry finished the game having made 35 saves in regulation and overtime as well as one in the shootout, while Samsonov earned his first AHL win with 19 saves plus two more in the shootout.
The Penguins’ next contest is next Friday, Nov. 2, against the Hartford Wolf Pack at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Puck drop between the Penguins and Wolf Pack is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Individual tickets for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton home games can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza box office, through all Ticketmaster outlets, or by contacting the Penguins’ offices at (570) 208-7367. Season ticket packages for the 20th season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey, including full season, 22-game, 12-game and Flexbook plans, are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.
Fans can also keep up with the Penguins through the AHL’s brand new high definition streaming service, AHLTV. Subscriptions for AHLTV, which include live and archived games, begin at just $79.99 for the entire 2018-19 regular season. Fans can visit theahl.com/AHLTV now to register for a free AHLTV account and purchase 2018-19 subscriptions.
