Thanks to two goals from Ethen Frank and a hat trick of assists from Mike Sgarbossa, the Hershey Bears defeated division rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-2 on Saturday night. The tallies were Frank’s 19th and 20th goals of the season, giving him goals in four-straight games.
Clay Stevenson started in net for the Bears and made 32 saves in the victory.
The Baby Pens got on the board early, scoring their first goal just 1:10 into the game.
Frank evened the score for the Bears at the 6:25 mark, skating up the right circle through the defenders and firing at the net. The puck hit off the crossbar and in, tying the game 1-1 and giving Frank his 19th goal of the season.
Pierrick Dubé scored his 22nd goal of the season and gave the Bears the lead 6:24 into the second on the power play. Tic-tac-toe passing from Mike Sgarbossa and Hendrix Lapierre by the right circle got the puck to Dubé in front, who buried the puck past the netminder.
However, the Baby Pens got a goal of their own on the power play, sending the teams into the third tied 2-2.
Frank would pot another goal in the third period that would end up being the game-winning goal.
After making a steal in the defensive zone, Frank carried the puck into neutral on a three-on-two break. There he dished to Sgarbossa, who then slid the puck over to Joe Snively on the left wing. The former Little Capital, then immediately sent a pass to Frank wide-open in the slot, who beat Baby Pens goaltender Joel Blomqvist past the glove. The goal gave Frank 20 goals for the second consecutive season.
The Penguins’ Sam Poulin tied the game with 5.9 seconds left, but the goal was waved off due to his stick being over the crossbar, giving the the 3-2 win.
With the victory, the Bears improved to 33-7-0-2 on the season.
Here were the Bears lines:
Tonight's projected lineup against the Penguins📝
Hendrix Lapierre is back and will play tonight!
Catch tonight's broadcast:
📺Antenna TV (@fox43.2)
🖥️ https://t.co/HaxQBmLCRZ (AHLTV freeview)
📻@FroggyValley, @foxsports1460am, @WOYK1350, @CapitalsRadio pic.twitter.com/BcQV3v5oNi— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) January 27, 2024
Here are the full game highlights:
Below is the full game recap via Bears press release:
BEARS HANG ON FOR 3-2 WIN OVER PENGUINS
Frank scores twice, Sgarbossa dishes out three assists for Hershey
(Wilkes-Barre Township, PA – Jan. 27, 2024) – Ethen Frank scored twice, Mike Sgarbossa dished out three assists, and the Hershey Bears (33-7-0-2) hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (23-15-5-0) on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. Hershey has now won four straight games and extended its point streak to seven contests (5-0-0-2).
The Bears improved to 7-2-0-0 against the Penguins this season, and have now won six straight against their Atlantic Division foe dating back to Nov. 15 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (5-4 overtime win).
The Penguins opened the scoring on just their second shot of the contest as Radim Zohorna beat Clay Stevenson 1:10 into the first period.
Hershey equalized as Aaron Ness chipped the puck up the wall to Sgarbossa, who found Frank in neutral ice. The forward skated up the right wing and curled to the slot before beating Joel Blomqvist with a shot that banked in off the crossbar for his 19th of the season at 6:25.
Pierrick Dubé gave the Bears their first lead of the night at 6:24 of the second frame with a power-play goal from the right circle that came off a cycle play involving Hendrix Lapierre and Sgarbossa. Dubé put Lapierre’s pass through the equipment of Blomqvist for his 22nd of the season to make it 2-1.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton answered with a power-play goal of its own from Vinnie Hinostroza at 18:39 to level the game at 2-2.
Hershey went ahead 3-2 at 11:29 of the third period when Frank banked his second of the night in a similar fashion off the iron and past Blomqvist; Joe Snively and Sgarbossa picked up the assists.
With Hershey killing a penalty late in regulation and Blomqvist pulled for an extra skater, it appeared that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had managed to tie the game with under six seconds remaining, but the apparent goal was overturned due to the puck being played with a high stick. The Bears killed off the remaining clock on the resulting face-off to secure the win.
Shots finished 34-28 in favor of the Penguins. Stevenson went 32-for-34 to secure his 15th victory of the season for Hershey; Blomqvist took the loss for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with a 25-for-28 effort. Hershey went 1-for-5 on the power play; the Penguins went 1-for-6 with the man advantage.
