The Hershey Bears had a clutch performance on the road to avoid going down 2-0 in their best-of-five series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
After leading 2-0 through two periods, the Bears were put under heavy fire by the Penguins and needed goaltender Clay Stevenson to make 21 saves in the third period alone. Stevenson held down his crease and finished the game with 36 total stops, improving to 3-1 this postseason with a 1.51 goals-against average, a .945 save percentage, and one shutout.
“The playoffs are always a different animal, right?” Stevenson said postgame. “Guys step up, and they really have all year, right? But it’s more emphasized at these moments and in those situations, when it’s a one-goal game, right? Having everyone help out and being in good spots on the ice, like they played exceptionally all around, helped me out a ton, allowed me to play the best version of my game. I feed off them, and they feed off me, and it’s a team sport, and that’s why we had success tonight.”
Stevenson’s most flashy save of the game came with the Bears on a power play and up 1-0 late in the second period. After an Ilya Protas pass ricocheted to Penguins forward Avery Hayes, the puck quickly went the other direction, and Stevenson needed to make a left pad save on a breakaway.
Otherwise, though, Stevenson wasn’t forced to make too many dramatic stops as he leaned on his instincts and well-trained positioning to down the Penguins.
“The positional game is so key,” Stevenson said. “So many elite goaltenders in this league are so good positionally. It sets you up to make the right save selection. It calms your mind down. The less you’re moving, the less you’re thinking, the more you’re just finding your sight line, sticking with it. You play sound, you play calm, confident, and I think it just gives you the most optimal access to the puck.”
Early in Saturday’s game, Stevenson could have kicked back on a recliner in his net as the Bears allowed just three shots on goal in the first period. However, the Penguins certainly picked up the pace later in the action, recording 34 shots in the final two frames.
The Bears killed off all four of the Penguins’ power plays in the game, a feat they were unable to do in Game 1. Stevenson credited the players in front of him for allowing him to see the puck and for battling in the dirty areas throughout the game.
“I really tell them if you’re going to be boxing a guy out, like in a good spot, I’m going to find my way around you,” Stevenson said. “If they’re doing the right things, it makes the job a lot easier for me. If they’re putting pressure when pressure is needed, when pucks are in those 50-50 areas.
“They do great. They get in lanes. They block shots. I think our sticks are amazing from our defensemen. They break up plays. They help me net front clearing rebounds and whatnot. And, yeah, it’s a fun game, you know?”
The Bears will turn back to Stevenson in net as the series heads to Hershey next week. The club can close out a series win over the Penguins if they sweep Games 3 and 4 at the Giant Center.
